


Crawl Into My Heart

by Lenticular



Series: Tenzin's Affair 'verse [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Angst, Hand Jobs, Infedelity, M/M, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, tarrlok finds out he's a big old bottom, tarrlok has a cheating kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:47:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 77,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenticular/pseuds/Lenticular
Summary: Tenzin has an affair.
Relationships: Amon | Noatak & Tarrlok., Korra & Tenzin (Avatar), Tarrlok/Tenzin (Avatar), background Pema/Tenzin, former tenzin/lin
Series: Tenzin's Affair 'verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869313
Comments: 292
Kudos: 128





	1. The Protegé

**Author's Note:**

> There's one other fic for this damn pairing on AO3, and I wrote that one too. I think that's the definition of, "The fandom's been sleeping on this."
> 
> So I guess, if I wanted it done, I had to do it myself. So here it is: a big-ass fic about how Tenzin and Tarrlok is a solid pairing that should be shipped more.
> 
> (The porn starts coming in chapter 3; be patient.)
> 
> Thanks to my beta DoubtingRabbit!

“Councilman?”

Tenzin jerked to attention, spending a bemused moment blinking at the matronly aide in front of his desk. “Yes! Sorry, I’m... yes?”

She smiled, green eyes twinkling above her fussy glasses. “Little Jinora keeping you up, sir?” she asked, sliding a stack of paper onto the table.

It took some getting used to, the way everyone referred to his infant daughter as if they knew her personally, but that was the price of fame, Tenzin supposed. Grainy photos of Jinora sleeping in her mother’s arms had been plastered all over the popular press for weeks. The granddaughter of Avatar Aang and, as the world expected, the next airbender born after Tenzin himself.

“Ah, yes,” he said, allowing some of the tiredness to show. “Wakes us up every three hours like clockwork.”

The aide laughed, a round, pleasant sound, and said, “Oh, don’t I know it! Three of my own, sir; it’s a miracle I didn’t lose all my marbles!”

Tenzin chuckled politely and dismissed her by way of pulling the paperstack towards himself. Being a veteran Council aide, she took the hint and left with a jolly, “It gets better, sir!” that he barely heard and, sleep-deprived, didn’t quite believe.

The stack proved to be little more than the required memos that took up most of the Council’s time and an inordinate amount of paper: Chairman Azun reminding everyone that today’s meeting was cancelled, Councilwoman Kirima sending a perfunctory update on her part of the Winter Solstice celebrations, Councilman Amak doing the same, and-- nestled among them was a personal memo from Amak to Tenzin.

He felt a slight flutter of hope in his stomach, one that intensified when he read that Amak wished to discuss something with him in person. A flutter which he tried, and failed, to repress.

It wasn’t Amak he was eager to see; it was the Councilman’s protegé. Young Tarrlok, with his elaborate chestnut braids and easy smile and cool blue eyes.

Tenzin knew an infatuation when he felt it, and he knew also not to seek it out. But… what could it hurt? It wasn’t as if he ever intended to act on it. He would go see Amak, and if Tarrlok was present there was no reason that Tenzin couldn’t have a perfectly polite conversation with him, spend a few moments enjoying his presence. In time the infatuation would fade, and that would be the end of it. Tenzin found himself smiling as he stood, memo in hand.

Amak, like his office, smelled vaguely of wet fur when he greeted Tenzin. “I’m glad you’re taking this so seriously,” he said, and Tenzin smiled, eyes already searching the rest of the room till he found Tarrlok speaking to two aides by the filing cabinets.

“I’m hoping you can convince your mother to join us for the Solstice,” Amak said as Tenzin considered the line of Tarrlok’s back under his fashionable silk tunic, the sway of his three braids as he moved his head.

“I know she’s preferred to withdraw after your father’s death, train the new Avatar, and I understand that,” Amak continued, and Tarrlok laughed - low and sweet - at some private joke that Tenzin wished he had heard.

“I just think it would do the community good to see that Master Katara is still concerned for the welfare of the United Republic,” Amak said, and Tarrlok finally noticed Tenzin, gracing him with a perfect politician’s smile and a polite nod.

“So will you speak to her?” Amak demanded, and Tenzin blinked.

“I’m sorry, what?” he said.

Amak looked despairing, and Tenzin suspected that the Watertribesman had practiced the speech Tenzin had so thoroughly ignored.

“I’m terribly sorry,” he said quickly. “Jinora is keeping us up all night, I’m asleep on my feet, you understand.”

“Jinora?” Amak asked, white brows creasing.

“His newborn daughter,” said Tarrlok, suddenly next to Tenzin, and it was only years of meditation that kept Tenzin from jumping. “Honestly, sir, sometimes I think you’re not following the news at all.”

“Ah,” said Amak, waving a hand. “The _popular_ press. Er, that is, c-c-c--”

Tenzin and Tarrlok both waited patiently as Amak’s faux pas caught up with him and returned his stutter.

“ _Congratulations_ ,” Amak finally forced out, “on your daughter, C-Councilman Tenzin. A joyous occasion.”

“Thank you, Councilman Amak,” Tenzin said. He tried to sound gracious, but Tarrlok was right there at his elbow. “Now, what was it you wished to talk to me about?”

Again Amak looked despairing, and Tarrlok smoothly stepped in, turning to face Tenzin. “We were wondering if you could persuade your honoured mother to join us for the Winter Solstice,” he said. “It would do the Watertribe community here in the city good to see her.”

His eyes were the same colour as Yue Bay on a wintry day, Tenzin decided. All crisp, pale blue, sparkling with the light from the large windows. “I, uh,” he said, “I’m not sure it’s something you should count on. She’s very busy with young Korra.”

Tarrlok smiled, again that perfect, white politician’s smile. “And how is our prodigy Avatar?”

“Good!” Tenzin blustered, thrown off by the sudden change in subject. “She’s-- she’s doing very well! She turned seven last month. Well underway in her education; she’s very vivacious!” He cleared his throat. “Impulsive. But, well, seven!”

Amak smiled and Tarrlok echoed it. “Wonderful!” said the young waterbender. “Then there’s no reason Master Katara can’t take a brief break to visit.”

Tenzin got the distinct feeling he’d just been manoeuvered, but he could smell Tarrlok’s cologne and it made it hard to care. “I can certainly ask,” he acquiesced, trying to make it sound jolly.

Amak deflated with relief. “Thank you, Tenzin! I owe you!”

“Oh, now,” said Tenzin, “be careful what you offer!”

Polite laughs all around, small nods that meant the conversation had run its course, and Tenzin tried to think up some way to bow out--

“Should I walk Councilman Tenzin out and take him over the plan, sir?” Tarrlok said, a pragmatic bomb dropped in among the awkward politeness.

“Oh! Oh, yes, please do, Tarrlok,” Amak said, a little too quickly.

“If you’d follow me, please, sir,” Tarrlok smiled at Tenzin, leading the way to the neat desk - Tarrlok’s own - standing against the wall outside Amak’s office. Tenzin drifted after him, trying to keep some distance, trying not to _stare_ as Tarrlok bent that slim waist to ruffle through a drawer full of papers. He failed, only coming to his senses when Tarrlok stood once more, handing him a sheaf of paper. “The itinerary.”

“Right! Yes,” Tenzin said, trying to focus.

Tarrlok slid in beside him, pointing at each section in turn. “The bits underlined in red, that’s where we’d like to see Master Katara, but it is of course optional. However, if she only feels like she can handle one event, we would like to see her at the ritual for the Ascension of Yue. It’s both the most important part, and, well, she was present at the real event.”

“I know,” Tenzin stammered. “I am half Watertribe myself.” Tarrlok smiled at him, so close that Tenzin could feel his breath. It smelled like mint. Of _course_ it smelled like mint.

“So you are, sir,” Tarrlok said. “Pardon my forgetfulness.” He turned back to the paper and went on, “I’ve tried to confine her suggested appearances to the evenings-- you’ll excuse my assumption, I hope, that as a waterbender, she feels stronger in the evening?”

“She-- yes, she does,” Tenzin said. He tried to follow the itinerary, but his eyes kept drifting to Tarrlok, to the square line of his jaw, so close that Tenzin could see the slight shade of stubble, could pick out the few strands of hair that had come free of the braids.

“Wonderful,” said Tarrlok and straightened, stepping back out of Tenzin’s personal space. “I hope you can convince her, sir; she’s a hero to so many of us.” He smiled again, pearly white and perfect.

The smile stayed with Tenzin all the way back to his office.


	2. The Winter Solstice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin attends the Solstice festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to DoubtingRabbit for being my beta. They are the bee's knees.

The underwater lights flared, creating a second moon reflecting in Yue Bay, almost bright enough to compare with the waxing crescent overhead. “Oh, that is lovely,” Katara said, but to Tenzin, the festivities were intricate and garish in the way of diaspora celebrating. An attempt to retain roots so desperate that it became overstuffed. Every carving was too elaborate, every seat too piled with furs and woven blankets in a mish-mash of colours of styles.

And the whole harbour smelled of sea prunes which, while not meat of any kind, still made Tenzin’s stomach turn. Another trait inherited from his father, he supposed.

Still, this was his heritage in equal measure, and he had dutifully donned appropriately ceremonial Watertribe robes, albeit woven from linen rather than carved from hide. He had drunk to the moonrise (water, not fermented turtle seal milk), sung along with the chant to Yue, and dutifully listened to an extended sermon on the balance of the moon and the sea.

It made his mother happy.

“I think it’s too showy,” Pema said. She sat close beside Katara, a sleeping Jinora absently rocked in her arms. “I hardly think electric lights were invented when Yue ascended.”

“They were in the Fire Nation,” said Katara. “Besides, we should celebrate with what tools seem best to us, not simply what our forefathers used.”

It was an old debate between his wife and his mother. Tradition versus progress. Used to the tugs from either side of the equation, Tenzin tuned them out, leaning on the railing of the temporary festival pavilion. 

“Master Katara!”

Tenzin jolted and turned in time to see Councilwoman Kirima sweep past him to greet Katara, who seemed equally pleased to see her countrywoman.

“Little Kirima,” Katara said fondly. “Look at you.”

“How are you, Master Katara? Oh, I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Very well, thank you. Hard at work.”

They were joined by Amak, decked out in so much fur that he looked like a polar bear-dog, and-- and Tarrlok, who had decided on a much more subtle ensemble of deep navy and cool icy blues.

Tenzin forced himself to focus on his mother, clearly the guest of honour, and not the way the embroidery complimented Tarrlok's eyes.

“Master K-Katara,” Amak said, flushed with pleasure at the meeting. Or, possibly, the amount of fur he was wearing. “I am so honoured that you accepted our invitation.”

“Oh, how could I turn down my dear little Tenzin?” Katara laughed.

Pema joined Tenzin at the railing, hoisting Jinora up slightly higher. There was a slight crease between her eyebrows. Sleep deprivation, Tenzin decided. She was always tense when off Air Temple Island.

“How is the Avatar?” Amak was asking when Tenzin tuned back in.

“She’s very well,” Katara said. “A bundle of energy, but that’s hardly different from any other child that age. When Bumi was seven, I rarely knew where he was at all!”

“Master Katara,” Tarrlok said, looking starstruck as he presented her with a bow; something that Tenzin decided looked good on him. “It’s such an honour to meet a living legend.”

“Oh, please,” said Katara, a flush rising in her cheeks and a smile wrinkling her eyes further. “Such a polite young man!”

“I’m tired, Tenzin,” Pema sighed, leaning against his shoulder. “When do you think we can go home?”

“Well, the ritual is over,” Tenzin said, eyes still trained on Tarrlok-- his usually so-polite face was animated as he spoke to what was clearly his personal hero. “I don’t think anyone would mind if we slipped out now.”

“Can you make my goodbyes for me?” Pema asked, eager to leave and casting a glance back at the cluster of Watertribesmen. “I’ll meet you down at the ferry.”

“Of course,” said Tenzin, but by then she had already hurriedly kissed his cheek and vanished off in the crowd. Well. Nothing to be done about it, he supposed.

“Mother,” he said, gently pressing into the group, “Pema and I are headed home. Will you be alright?”

Katara blinked, eyebrows arched. “Oh, yes, Kya is around here somewhere; she’ll help me. I’ll see both of you and Jinora tomorrow, then.”

Tenzin smiled, trying not to make it look tense, and kissed his mother’s cheek before slipping away as well. The crowds were thinning out, thankfully, now that the show was over. There would be no fireworks like in the Summer Solstice celebrations, and the food was mostly gone, leaving people little reason to stay behind.

Still, it was crowded enough that when Tenzin reached a smaller empty pavilion, he stopped and breathed deeply for a few moments. It appeared to have been the designated set-up spot for the caterers, but with the food out and the kitchen crew gone, all that was left was a spill of flour on the floor and an empty bottle in the corner, all lit mutely by the lights of the closest other pavilion.

And it was blessedly quiet and cool. Tenzin took another deep breath, realising how warm he’d gotten, even in his linen robes.

“Councilman Tenzin?”

His stomach jolted, and he turned to face Tarrlok who stood there, in the entrance, backlit by the distant lights.

“Yes?”

Tarrlok took that as an invitation to step closer, proffering up an ornate box that Tenzin recognised as coming from the most expensive candy shop in Republic City. “A thanks,” he said, “from Councilman Amak. For bringing Master Katara here.”

Tenzin accepted it with a stilted smile. “You seemed quite happy about my mother’s presence as well.”

That got him a smile in turn - a real one, bashful and a little crooked. “I used to hear about her exploits during the war as a child,” Tarrlok admitted. “I never thought I’d get to meet her.”

“Well, I’m glad that-- that you’re-- that it made your day,” Tenzin said for lack of anything better to say. He was absorbed with the way the distant light caught on Tarrlok’s ear, his neck, his cheekbone; lit up strands in his chestnut hair. And when Tarrlok laughed, Tenzin thought it sounded like the soft lapping of waves.

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything sweet to give you, sir, so I hope my thanks are enough.”

“More than enough,” Tenzin said, trying not to dwell on the idea of anything sweet Tarrlok could give him.

“Then thank you." Tarrlok bowed, shallow and just on the casual side of formal. Friendly more than anything. “I hope you and your family get home safe.” He straightened up and smiled, the golden light caressing his face, the moon reflecting in his eyes, and Tenzin leaned in and kissed him.

By the time Tenzin realised what he was doing, Tarrlok was kissing him back.

Tenzin jerked back. “I’m so sorry! So-- incredibly sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. I clearly wasn’t thinking! It must-- the heat! The heat is getting to me!”

Tarrlok was staring at him, those bay-blue eyes wide.

“That was entirely inappropriate,” Tenzin babbled, taking another step back. “As your superior, I take full responsibility; that should never have happened! I’m a married man--”

“I don’t care.”

Tenzin stopped mid-word, blinking at the waterbender whose shock seemed to have melted into a look of defiant determination. “What?”

“I don’t care that you’re married.” There was something else to Tarrlok’s otherwise so blandly polite expression now, something almost hungry, and his voice was hard. “They’re your vows to break, not mine.”

“And-- and I shouldn’t have,” Tenzin said, straightening his robes with shaky hands so that he wouldn’t have to see the challenge in Tarrlok’s eyes.

“I suppose not,” Tarrlok said and stepped closer, his voice once more soft and friendly, “but I’m not blind; I’ve noticed how you’ve been looking at me since I started at City Hall. And so have others.”

That got Tenzin’s attention, and he looked up at the waterbender, alarmed.

Tarrlok smiled, a glint of teeth in the gloom. “How about this, sir? Tomorrow I get off at seven. I’ll leave my address on your desk, and from there the choice is yours. Maybe it’ll get it out of your system, stop the gossip.”

Tenzin doubted that. Knew somehow that should he take the plunge, he wouldn’t stop falling. But he heard himself say, “I’ll consider it.”

“Travel safely then, sir,” Tarrlok said, smile widening, and with another bow he withdrew, leaving Tenzin unmoored and not a little frightened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently today's the day where civilised countries get "Legend of Korra" on Netflix.
> 
> Must be nice.
> 
> >:C


	3. The Plunge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is best beta.

The scrap of paper, folded neatly twice, lay at the center of Tenzin’s desk when he arrived in the morning. He forced himself to put it aside without looking, focusing all his energy on the pile of memos his aide handed him. They were a decent distraction, though not a perfect one. The folded paper burned like an ember in the corner of his eye.

Reading over the pile of memos, a brief chat with Kirima to thank him for his attendance, followed by her fondly reminiscing of her younger days, as she always did; then a cup of green tea with jasmine petals floating in the jade-gold liquid.

And still that paper sat there, vying for his attention.

The Council meeting came and went - the triads were stepping up their activities, and Azun was vocal at the possibility of a turf war - and still, Tenzin’s thoughts circled around the note sitting at the corner of his desk.

For lunch, he ate a bowl of buckwheat noodles, chewing mechanically, barely registering the flavour, eyes on the folded scrap.

Then, the telephone rang and he jumped, glancing towards the clock. Three already?

“Hello, dear,” he said diligently into the receiver.

“Tenzin,” Pema greeted him, her voice slow, tired, but otherwise content.

“Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yes,” she assured him. “Jinora decided that my hair made for the perfect toy, so I’m ruffled, but otherwise good.”

They laughed together for a moment, and Tenzin found his eyes sliding across his desk, towards the paper again.

“What about mother? Wasn’t she going to be spending time with you and Jinora today?”

“Oh,” said Pema, voice suddenly breezy. “I think Katara decided to do her own thing. She has been away from the city for a while.”

“I suppose,” Tenzin said.

“How are things in government?” said Pema, a little too loudly.

Tenzin let her have the change in subject. “Oh; paperwork and meetings, arguments over paragraphs and sections.”  _ Tempting aides and paper notes _ . “Nothing interesting.”

“Well, thankfully you can leave soon,” said Pema. “When’ll you be home?”

Tenzin opened his mouth to tell her it wouldn’t be long, but what came out was, “Actually I’ll have to stay late today. Some nonsense with a brewing gang war.”

“Oh, no! Is it dangerous?”

“I’m sure we’ll get it under control before it gets that far,” Tenzin assured her, a core of guilt gnawing in his stomach.

“Well, alright,” said Pema. “I’ll leave out some dinner for when you get home. I love you.”

“Yes, that’s-- thank you, yes, I love you too,” Tenzin said. He hung up the receiver and stared at the telephone.

It meant nothing. Nothing had to happen. He didn’t even have to open the note.

Four hours and fifteen minutes later he stood before Tarrlok’s apartment building, note in hand. It was a lovely building, plenty of delicate moulding around the door, itself decorated with swooping, organic shapes. Not the priciest part of Republic City, to be certain, but within walking distance of it. Amak had to be paying his protegé well.

The building had been built with electricity in mind, and there were actual buttons to push in order to summon each occupant; fine little knobs of molded brass, beside a neatly printed label informing him of their names.

Floor three, apartment B - 3B delicately raised on the button - occupied by Tarrlok, NWT. Tenzin looked down at the note where, sure enough, the same address was written in a neat cursive.

He could still walk away. City Hall wasn’t far, and the night was pleasant with only the mildest chill in the air. He could return from nothing but a refreshing evening walk, ready and restituted to finish up his paperwork.

He pressed the button.

The wait was an exercise in guilt and doubt. He stood there, eyeing the door like he would a sudden portal to the Spirit World; dangerous and a little intriguing. He still had time. He could still turn on his heel and hurry down the granite steps, disappear down the quiet sidewalk.

Tarrlok opened the door and smiled, and Tenzin followed him in. Up the steps, wide and curving, up to the door marked like the button, 3B.

It still meant nothing. It could still just be a conversation.

Tarrlok closed the door behind him. “Wine?” he said, gliding around Tenzin like a stream of water, disappearing deeper into his apartment.

“Ah, no, thank you,” Tenzin said. “I don’t drink.”

“More’s the pity,” Tarrlok’s voice drifted back to him. “Might make you less tense.”

Tenzin breathed deeply through his nose, deliberately loosening the muscles of his shoulders, before following Tarrlok into what proved to be the living room. Just in time to see Tarrlok slip through one of the two doors in the opposite wall, and the dim electric light allowed Tenzin to make out a small kitchenette. The other door was open, but dark, and only the vague outline of a bed was visible.

Tenzin looked away, taking in the living room instead and trying hard not to consider the very concept of Tarrlok’s bedroom.

It was a nice living room, at least. Stylishly furnished and clearly Watertribal, but without the overbearing stuffiness of piled furs and walls covered in hangings. There was but a seating arrangement and a phonograph, the walls hung with an array of clearly religious paintings. The Ascension of Yue took proud center-place, and a part of Tenzin was surprised to find that Tarrlok was the pious type.

The only thing that seemed less than minimalistically perfect were the two bookshelves, sagging under the weight of the books stuffed into them. Tenzin glanced at the kitchen door before hesitantly drifting over for a closer look. The books ranged from utter schlock to high-academia treatises; “The Forbidden Tales of Kyoshi’s Passion” side by side with “A Fierce Flame: the Post-Colonial Fire Nation”, with both “The Living Strata of Ba Sing Se” and “A Grim History of Bloodbending” stacked haphazardly on top. All of them well-read and well-loved as evidenced by worn covers and thumb-over pages.

Tenzin had expected ‘voracious reader’ about as much as he had expected ‘pious’, and he felt a moment of shame. Tarrlok up till now had simply been a distractingly handsome consummate politician, a living temptation, but here was his home; proof that he was a person beyond all that.

“I hope you’ll accept water, at least,” Tarrlok said, and Tenzin jolted. The waterbender was watching him with something that wasn’t quite a smile, and calculation in those clear, blue eyes. He was holding a tall glass of water out to Tenzin, cradling a glass of wine in his other hand.

“Thank you,” said Tenzin belatedly, taking the water and using the glass to indicate the bookshelf. “That’s, uh, quite a collection.”

Tarrlok laughed, almost a scoff, looking askance at his books. “I have a terrible habit of buying books and then not getting rid of them when they prove to be trash. Somewhere in here I even have-- ah. The ‘Omashu Romances’, at least a few volumes.” He held up one of the books as evidence.

Tenzin wince, couldn’t help it. The book in question had the subtitle of ‘Firebender Fury’ and a lurid picture of a shirtless, top-knotted man surrounded by flames that somehow managed to look sexual. “Pema has a few of those.”

“Really?” asked Tarrlok. “I only bought some to see if they really were as offensive as everyone said.”

“And are they?” Tenzin sipped his water. This was good. This was a polite conversation about books. There was nothing inappropriate about this.

“Every Watertribesman is a sex-obsessed savage, every Fire National is an exotically dangerous stranger, and green-eyed, partly “civilised” half-Air Nomads abound,” Tarrlok said, sounding more amused than offended. “I take more issue with the lack of creativity than the stereotypes, honestly.”

Tenzin choked on his water and tried to make it sound like he was clearing his throat. “I haven’t read them myself,” he was quick to assure Tarrlok.

“Don’t,” Tarrlok said and sipped his wine.

Floundering for a moment, twirling the glass awkwardly between his hands, looking from the floor to the bookshelves to the windows, Tenzin finally said, “Well, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Oh?” said Tarrlok, carefully groomed eyebrows arching.

“Yes, well,” said Tenzin, “I really think I should be going.”

“Drink your water first,” Tarrlok said and then, considerately, waited for him to do so before continuing. “I really think I should suck your cock before you go.”

It was only a last minute save that kept Tenzin from spraying the waterbender with, well, water, instead coughing awkwardly as it trickled down his chin, undignified. He managed to swallow and stammer out a, “What?”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Tarrlok said, and that smile was back; the real one, crooked and sly. “To get it out of your system?”

“Well, I-- that is-- no one has to--”

“I thought I was very clear in my invitation,” said Tarrlok and stepped closer. “I  _ want _ to suck you off. Sir.”

Tenzin stared at him for a moment, adam’s apple bobbing, and he tried not to think about it; about that smiling mouth wrapping around him, of the muscles of that square jaw working. Tried, and failed entirely. “I-- I shouldn’t,” he managed at last.

Tarrlok stepped closer still, plucking the glass from his hand and setting it tottering on an overfilled shelf along with his own. “But do you want to?”

He smelled of expensive cologne and mint, and his eyes were like a winter sky; the dim electric light made his dark skin richer somehow, and his dark hair deeper.

“Yes,” Tenzin said.

Tarrlok took his hand, those long waterbender fingers curling around Tenzin’s palm, and pulled him to the seating arrangement, pushed him into the rich navy velvet cushions of the sofa, fell to his knees between Tenzin’s legs, all with that smile full of promise and wickedness.

Even when clever fingers pushed under Tenzin’s robes, undid the ties holding his pants shut, he could only stare, half convinced it was a dream.

(And Tenzin had dreams, oh, yes; dreams filled with chestnut hair and sea-blue eyes.)

Tarrlok took him in hand, still soft, but his eyes never left Tenzin’s. “Don’t look like that,” he said mildly. “You look like you’ve never gotten a blowjob before.”

“I-- I haven’t.”

Again the arched eyebrows. “Really?” said Tarrlok. “Not even from Beifong?”

“No--” Tenzin tried to say, tried to muster up some offense at how casually his once-partner was spoken of, but then Tarrlok ducked his head and drew a long, slow lick up his sex, and all that came out was a wheeze.

“That’s tragic,” Tarrlok murmured against the base. “This dick deserves better.”

Tenzin tried to say something, opening his mouth to reply, but what did you  _ say _ to that? What  _ could _ you say? Instead he settled for a low noise of yearning, hands curling into velvet.

Tarrlok seemed to take that as a good sign, cradling the shaft in his palm and wrapping his lips around the head, expertly urging Tenzin harder.

_ He’s done this before _ , came the unbidden thought, and it made Tenzin’s stomach tighten in a way not altogether unpleasant. He watched, rapt, as Tarrlok took him deeper, lips closing around his prick like a seal.

Warm and wet and undulating, which took a moment to register in Tenzin’s addled mind as Tarrlok’s tongue, of course, and a tremble ran down his spine.

Tarrlok drew off him again, letting his hand take over, stroking slow and sure. He had callouses, Tenzin thought dimly. “So does the little lady back home not do this either? Really?” Tarrlok asked, his voice gentle, but Tenzin could hear the bite underneath. Again that hunger.

“Of-- of course she doesn’t,” Tenzin stammered, forcing his hips back against the cushions.

“I don’t see how that’s a matter of course,” said Tarrlok, looking for all the world like this was a normal conversation, like his lower lip wasn’t glistening with spit.

“I wouldn’t ask this of her,” Tenzin managed, his voice only wobbling a little.

“Oh,” Tarrlok breathed, and his smile grew vicious. “This is dirty to you.”

Well, wasn’t it? Wasn’t Tenzin breaking his vows, wasn’t there a man kneeling obscenely in front of him, fondling him?

“I see,” Tarrlok said, and Tenzin rather feared he did. Especially when Tarrlok leaned down again, never breaking eye-contact, and drew the flat of his tongue slowly, luridly over the crown of Tenzin’s sex.

The moan that escaped Tenzin was practically indecent on its own.

Tarrlok curled his smiling lips around the shaft again, hollowed his cheeks, and sucked Tenzin deep, his hands coming to rest on the Airbender’s still clothed thighs. Tenzin worried for a moment that he might rip through the delicate velvet of the cushions, but he managed to choke back his moan to a series of hoarse gasps. And then one of those fine hands slid to one of his own, guiding it to the top of Tarrlok’s head, to tangle in those dark, intricate braids.

Tenzin didn’t know what to do, simply felt the motion under his hand as Tarrlok bobbed his head, sucking his cock deeper before dragging his lips back up the shaft, again and again. The squirming, slick roughness of his tongue along the underside, the soft friction of his lips. The low, wet sounds, barely audible.

Finally it seemed as if some tight cord unwound itself, and Tenzin found himself slumping back, relishing the heat continuously drawing him deeper. He moaned again, and this time made no effort to hide it.

Then his cock hit a barrier, and before he knew it, Tarrlok had drawn back, slender hands taking over once more. The waterbender licked his lips and smirked up at him. “Good?”

“Yes,” Tenzin said, dazed. There was no point in playing coy; his body thrummed with warmth.

“Mm,” said Tarrlok, suckling briefly at the head and driving an unsteady sound from Tenzin. “Shame your wife doesn’t do this.”

Something like a splash of cold water ran down Tenzin’s spine, and he raised his head to give Tarrlok a shocked look--only to realise that the hunger was back, feral and toothed, hiding behind a sly smirk and those clever blue eyes.

_ He likes that, _ Tenzin realised, confusion warring with anger warring with want.  _ He likes that this is wrong. _

He should end this, he knew. Push Tarrlok away, borrow the bathroom and take care of this indignity himself before going home, home to Pema and Jinora and pretend this had never happened, that he had thrown away that folded paper.

But Tarrlok was watching him, with the hunger that was not a challenge, but a  _ need _ , a desperation so sincere that Tenzin could almost feel it in the grip of his hands.

“Yes,” he found himself saying. “Yes, it is a shame.”

For a moment Tenzin could have sworn he saw something like startled gratitude on those chiseled features, but in the blink of an eye there was only triumph, and with a deep breath Tarrlok swallowed him down to the hilt. Tenzin’s world narrowed briefly to just that, to slick, tight  _ good _ pressing in around his sex, and his head fell back into the cushions, even as his hips jerked away from them.

Tarrlok choked briefly, the sound of which was the sweetest Tenzin had ever heard, he was sure, and his fingers tightened in the waterbender’s hair, trying to keep him in place.

Tarrlok allowed for a moment, took each clumsy twitch of Tenzin’s hips, before finally straining back against his hands and pulling free. He was panting roughly, face flushed, lips red and bruising.

“Sorry,” Tenzin stammered, trying to quell his rebellious loins.

Tarrlok laughed. “Don’t be,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t handle it.”

There was nothing to say to that, and Tenzin instead drew a fingertip, fascinated, over Tarrlok’s lower lip. He was rewarded with a small smile and a nip to the pad of his thumb.

“Try not to get too excited,” Tarrlok said, nudging his hand aside and wrapping his lips around Tenzin’s prick again, head moving once again in an easy rhythm, but now each duck of his head took him further down the shaft until, at last, Tenzin could feel himself slide down the waterbender’s throat.

_ Try not to get excited _ , indeed. Tenzin’s fingers curled around a thick braid, but he kept himself from grabbing at Tarrlok’s head again. After all, he clearly knew what he was doing, and Tenzin was little more than a puddle of water in his hands.

Tarrlok’s hands began to stray as well, even as the precise bobs of his head quickened. Slender fingers slipping up under Tenzin’s tunic, feeling along the dip over his hips, the muscles of his abdomen, sliding down the sides of his thighs. Groping him, Tenzin realised dimly; relishing his body by touch.

It was flattering in a way that made his prick twitch.

Tarrlok  _ wanted _ him, somehow. This beautiful creature with his secretive smiles, his polite murmurs, wanted him. When was the last time Tenzin had been wanted--

Another cold rush down his spine, the memory of Pema and the shame of what he was doing, and it somehow mingled with the heat that was building between his legs. Tarrlok wanted him and Tarrlok  _ liked _ that it was wrong; Tarrlok  _ liked _ that he was doing what Pema would never do. And that Tenzin let him.

Tenzin’s breathing was suddenly loud and ragged in his own ears, and his hips jerked upwards again, trying to get impossibly deeper.

Teasing hands settled back on his hips, vice-like, and pressed him back against the cushions, but Tarrlok didn’t stop otherwise, still swallowing Tenzin down as if he needed it.

Maybe he did. Maybe he needed to prove something, and here and now Tenzin couldn’t even begrudge him that.

“Tarrlok,” he gasped, low and confused. He didn’t know what to do with his guesses, with the strange blend of shame and desire, how his guilt made him nearly hurt for a release. But he knew slick heat and friction, he knew sweat under his fingers on the nape of Tarrlok’s neck.

He knew this wouldn’t be the last time.

Tarrlok took him to the hilt and held there, eyes flashing up to catch Tenzin’s, and the guilt and shame and want and need unfurled at that look. Tenzin made a noise deep in his throat, rough and fierce, and spilled in Tarrlok’s welcoming mouth.

When Tenzin came to, Tarrlok was wiping his mouth with the heel of his hand, eyes dark and distant. It was an unnerving expression, and all Tenzin could say was, "What about you?"

Tarrlok's eyes focused at least, flitting up to meet Tenzin's. "What about me? I can take care of myself."

Something about it sat wrong with Tenzin, the way Tarrlok wasn't smiling anymore, how the blush of arousal still lingered in his cheeks, but there was a crease between his eyebrows, and Tenzin reached to tug at his arm. "Come here."

Bemused, Tarrlok obeyed, letting Tenzin drag him up on the couch to straddle the airbender's lap. Tenzin’s immediate fears were allayed by the clear presence of Tarrlok’s arousal--

(This wasn’t all a trick, a way to obtain blackmail; Tarrlok liked it.)

\--and he tugged open the fine ivory buttons of those dark blue pants.

“If you’ve never gotten a blowjob before, you can’t expect me to believe you know how to give a handjob,” Tarrlok said, half a laugh.

“I’m sure I can-- I mean, I’ve done it to myself?” was Tenzin’s flustered answer.

“Oh?” Tarrlok's voice was steady and light even when Tenzin wrapped trembling fingers around his cock. “Is that allowed?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Tenzin said. He couldn’t meet Tarrlok’s eyes, looked instead at his own pale hand curled around a dark shaft.

“I don’t know, something about purity, I suppose,” Tarrlok said, and his arms came up to slide over Tenzin’s shoulders, cradling loosely around his neck.

“There is nothing impure about the pleasure of the physical body,” Tenzin recited, almost by rote, jerking Tarrlok off with rough, clumsy movements. “In fact, it allows us to rest and loosen the bonds that tie us to the material world.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Tarrlok said, and Tenzin was gratified to finally hear his voice grow husky.

“It’s-- it’s like a form of meditation if done right,” Tenzin insisted. His own breath caught when Tarrlok pressed close, forehead resting on Tenzin’s shoulder. “There are entire Air Nomad texts on the prolonging of-- of sexual congress.”

The only answer he got was a soft, trembling gasp, and the slow shifting of Tarrlok’s hips towards his hand.

Tenzin grew more bold, let himself squeeze and tug over velvet skin, trying to mimic in some small measure what Tarrlok had done with his mouth. “The great enlightened Air Nomads of the past put great importance on it, though little of their texts remain.” He was painfully aware that this was hardly a sexy conversation, but, well… “So yes. I do try to attain some mastery in that as well, albeit privately.”

Tarrlok breath hitched, but what he said was, “You’ve got some way to go, Sifu.” His hands slid back to Tenzin’s shoulders, and he straightened back up, hips rolling more surely now in time with Tenzin’s hand. “So what do you think of when you, ah, meditate? Enlightenment?”

Tenzin could feel his face grow warm and knew from experience that he was turning a fetching shade of red. “No! No, that’s not-- I think about lots of different things. Pema, old lovers…” Tarrlok’s eyes were dark as a midnight sea, and Tenzin finally confessed, “You.”

Tarrlok had to have known. Hadn’t he said as much, that he’d noticed how Tenzin looked at him? He  _ had _ to have known.

Even so, the first expression flickering over that flushed, handsome face was one of confusion and surprise, before melting into something Tenzin couldn’t begin to identify, something almost wild, but then Tarrlok leaned in and kissed him hard, and his expression ceased to matter.

This wasn’t like the soft, impulsive kiss from the pavilion; this was fierce with teeth and Tarrlok’s hands digging into his shoulders, harsh breathing against his lips, stuttering thrusts against his hand.

Tenzin let him, accepting the violence of the kiss as the wind accepted a thrashing tree. His free hand slipped back to cup Tarrlok’s thigh, supporting him as he moved, and Tenzin could feel each lean muscle as it tensed and shifted with the waterbender’s rocking.

“Faster,” Tarrlok hissed.

What could Tenzin do but obey? His clumsy attempts at pleasuring Tarrlok fell into a simple, fast rhythm, little more than a counterpoint to Tarrlok’s own thrusts. It seemed to work, however; Tarrlok’s breath came hot and shrill, and he kneaded at Tenzin’s shoulders as if he might lose his grip.

Tenzin broke the kiss to watch him, to see his fine features twisting up in pleasure, his eyes closed and his mouth half-open, lip red and wet. Strands of hair had drawn free of the thick braids, hanging over Tarrlok’s face in undone loops.

Tenzin thought,  _ he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. _

Tarrlok made a noise, rough and primal, that made Tenzin’s heart pound so much that, for a moment, he didn’t notice the sudden wet heat trickling down over his fingers. He blinked finally, forcing himself to look away from the waterbender’s face and down to where he still cradled Tarrlok’s dick

“Oh,” he said, vaguely. He was not sure what else to say.

“I’ll get that stain for you in a second,” Tarrlok said, his voice still rough. His eyes were still closed, but the blush was fading from his face.

“It’s fine,” Tenzin said, as if it was nothing more than a spill of wine.

Tarrlok opened an eye to look at him and laughed slightly. “Incredible. You’re even tense after sex.”

“I am not--” Tenzin started, but then Tarrlok gently took the hand now soiled with seed and lifted it, licking every drop off Tenzin’s fingers with impeccable care.

Tenzin didn’t remotely know what to say to that. But he couldn’t look away.

Tarrlok finished up his self-appointed duty and then, with a flick of his wrist, called what was left in Tenzin’s abandoned water glass to his hand, soaking it into the stained robes.

Tenzin croaked at the cold water, which only got him a laugh.

“Oh, relax; I’ll dry it too,” said Tarrlok. That smile was back; the perfect, even politician smile, and Tenzin missed the crooked one. “Well? Did you get it out of your system?”

Tenzin stared at him, something between despair and joy roiling in his gut.

“No,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how sometimes you have this idea and you build it up and then it just doesn't work out?
> 
> Like, I had this whole Thing with Tarrlok's apartment, where the book shelves were the only clue to his actual personality. Everything else, the furniture, the phonograph, the wine, was all this extremely generic shit that you would find just everywhere; you know, making it lowkey clear that Tarrlok's trying to hide something.
> 
> And then I ran into the problem of Tenzin being my POV character, and Tenzin is denser than a _black fucking hole._ He didn't notice shit.
> 
> ノಠ_ಠノ


	4. Two Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin deals with vigilantes, lovers and ex-girlfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well. Look who decided to show his face-- er, mask.
> 
> (DoubtingRabbit beta, best beta. U guise, they beta'd this chapter _on a phone_.)

“It appears we have a vigilante in Republic City,” Chairman Azun said. He passed the morning’s edition of _Republic Times_ around the Council table. Amak looked disturbed and Councilman Guan Ting amused before Tenzin saw the front page.

 _Masked vigilante foils Triad Heist!_ blared the headline. Tenzin skimmed the article; the Red Monsoons had attempted to extort a shop in the Dragon Flats district - hardly a heist, in Tenzin’s opinion - when a masked man had stopped them in what the paper described, somewhat luridly, as ‘an orgy of violence’. The article was accompanied by mug-shots of five roughed-up gangsters and a pencil sketch of a dark hooded figure in a pale mask; the artist had gone to some trouble to make it look dramatic. Tenzin passed the paper on to Kirima.

“What should be done about it?”

Guan Ting shrugged. “More police in the Dragon Flats?” he suggested. “Surely this man can’t hide, dressed like that.”

Kirima nodded, and Tenzin frowned, looking around at the rest of the Council. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, more sharply than he’d intended. Clearing his throat, he continued calmly, “This is clearly a consequence of the triads being allowed free reign. I agree with a greater police presence, but not against this vigilante.”

“What, do you approve of vigilantism now?” Azun asked, voice tart.

“No! Obviously not, but people only resort to this sort of thing,” he gestured at the paper Kirima was still holding, “when they feel they have no choice.”

“Either way,” Amak said, “we all seem to agree on increasing the police presence.”

“Everyone in favour?” Azun asked, looking around.

After a moment’s hesitation, Tenzin raised his hand along with the others. He could maybe find Lin, talk to her about his concerns. She was a high enough rank to have a say.

On the other hand, that would mean talking to Lin.

An hour later he was in his office, dividing his thoughts between that prickly issue and reading the _Republic Times_ article more closely. He found that this was not the first sighting of the masked man, merely the most spectacular, and half the district thought he was a spirit rather than a human.

He could have a polite conversation with Lin, couldn’t he? Simply share his concerns with her, there was no reason that would turn awkward. He could fly to Police HQ in a matter of minutes and simply… talk.

Tenzin sighed and let the paper drop. If he didn’t make it awkward - a very real possibility - then Lin would.

“Lunch, sir,” said an aide from the door and he jumped.

“Oh! Already?” He glanced at the clock which, sure enough, informed him it was a few minutes past two. “Thank you.”

Lunch for the day turned out to be toasted tofu on a bed of rice, fragrant enough to make Tenzin’s belly rumble. Still he didn’t pick up the chopsticks, instead watching the clock.

Finally, ten minutes past, Tarrlok slipped through his door, cradling a steaming bowl of his own.

Over two years, now, and their affair had fallen into something like a routine. They ate lunch together, and all that meant to the building at large was that they were friends - and that Tarrlok was considered canny enough to create connections before running for a position himself. They would have pleasant conversation, and then Pema and Jinora would call at the end of their hour together, and Tarrlok would slip back out, leaving Tenzin with a knot of guilt in his stomach that he couldn’t find it in himself to do anything about.

“You look troubled,” Tarrlok said, sitting down across from him. The smell of his bowl drifted towards Tenzin; seaweed noodles, thankfully, and not sea prunes.

“Considering my options,” Tenzin said, tapping the front page.

Tarrlok tilted his head, trying to get a better look, then laughed. “Oh! They’re putting those fairy stories in the regular papers now too?”

Tenzin blinked and looked at him, startled. “What?”

“The Masked Man,” Tarrlok intoned gravely, though it was rather ruined by his smile. “The coloured periodicals have been writing about him for a while. Each story’s crazier than the next.”

“Yes, well,” Tenzin said, “he seems to be very convinced that--”

He was cut off by a choked snort, and looked up as Tarrlok spent a moment trying not to laugh with a mouth full of noodles. “Oh, c’mon!” the waterbender finally said. “You don’t actually believe he’s a real person?”

“People have seen him!” Tenzin protested.

“People dress up as this character and get in fights,” Tarrlok shot back. “He’s some sort of folk hero. Like-- like Lapa-Hwei.”

Of course Tarrlok could just rattle off an obscure Earth Kingdom folkloric figure. Tenzin sighed. “Well, real or not, the Council voted to increase the number of police in the Dragon Flats district. They want to catch your folk hero here, and I want to stop the triads that he,” he caught Tarrlok’s look and amended, “or whoever is dressing up as him is trying to fight.”

Tarrlok’s eyebrows arched. “How is that-- ohh.” He smiled, thin and knowing. “You don’t want to talk to Beifong.”

“No,” Tenzin admitted, poking at his tofu. “I don’t want to talk to Beifong.”

That got him a laugh, low and just barely too warm to be mocking. “I don’t know how you two manage to still circle each other like mongoose-cats,” he said. “It’s been, what, four years at this point?”

“Five,” said Tenzin.

“Even worse!” Tarrlok exclaimed, but he was smiling and Tenzin forgave a lot of cheek in exchange for that smile.

“Did you come here just to pester me?” he demanded, resting his chin in his hand.

“No, I came here to flirt,” said Tarrlok cheerfully. “But I can see you’re not in the mood. However…” He pursed his lips lightly, considering Tenzin.

“What?” Tenzin asked and forced himself not to squirm.

Tarrlok leaned over his bowl of noodles. “I can offer you incentive. Go talk to Beifong, do your thing, and I’ll try one of those Air Nomad techniques with you tomorrow night.”

It took Tenzin a long moment to realise what he was talking about. Then, finally, the memory seared into his mind from their first time, of Tenzin idly talking about traditional tantric sex while Tarrlok rocked against him and paying no attention at all, or so Tenzin had thought. He should have known better, especially by now; Tarrlok had a mind as sticky as hide-glue.

Tenzin knew he was turning crimson, and he managed to sputter, “I don’t need to be bribed with--” he looked at the half-open door and lowered his voice, “with _sex_ to do my _job!_ ”

“No, but it helps,” Tarrlok said. Then he winked. “And maybe I’ve been looking for an excuse, too. I’m curious.”

Tenzin stuffed his mouth with rice and tofu so that he wouldn’t have to answer immediately, ducking his head. Not that it helped; he knew from experience that when he blushed, it was a whole-headed sort of affair.

Tarrlok chuckled. “Oh, what? Is it too pure a philosophical concept to be done with me?”

“No!” Tenzin said, coughed really, a few grains of rice taking flight. He quickly tried to wipe them off the desk.

Tarrlok only looked more amused. “Then what?”

Tenzin was careful to swallow his mouthful before speaking again. “It’s just… I’ve never tried any of these techniques with someone else.”

“Really? Not even Pema?” Tarrlok asked, immediately eager, and Tenzin could have slapped himself. Of course that was what Tarrlok would latch on to.

“No,” he said tightly. “Not even Pema.”

He didn’t have to look up to know that Tarrlok would be watching him intently, a fierce hunger hiding behind those cunning blue eyes. But he looked up anyway and found a shameful thrill in the sight.

Tarrlok knew, clearly, because he smirked at him around a mouthful of dirty-green noodles.

“You realise people might overhear us.” Tenzin nodded towards the half-open door, simply to reclaim some sort of high ground in the conversation..

“Fine,” sighed Tarrlok, twirling his noodles around his bowl for a moment. “But you should think about it.”

“Noted,” said Tenzin. He would, too, and he knew as much. He would go home and eat dinner, speak with Pema and try to interact with Jinora without being too awkward - she was beginning to say sentences, at least, making her easier to handle than the small, squealing lump that Tenzin, to his shame, had never quite felt comfortable with. Then he would retire to the men's quarters of the temple and lie awake thinking of all the things he would like to do to Tarrlok.

“So,” Tarrlok said, pulling him from his brief descent into shame, “we have a regular Lapa-Hwei on our hands.”

“Amon,” Tenzin said. Tarrlok gave him a Look, and he shrugged uncomfortably. “It means ‘hidden’, I think.”

“Hidden,” Tarrlok repeated, “and you still somehow think this isn’t an urban legend. Honestly, Tenzin, I don’t know where your critical thinking is sometimes.”

“Your presence puts it out of commission,” Tenzin shot back, waspish.

It got him a laugh, a genuine one this time, setting Tarrlok’s eyes sparkling like sunlight on water. The waterbender turned the paper around to face him and read the article, and for a while they sat there, eating in a pleasant - if slightly red-faced, in Tenzin’s case - silence.

A small scoff got Tenzin’s attention, and he raised his eyebrows at his companion.

“‘The time has come’,” Tarrlok recited lightly, “‘for the triads to know the fear they so carelessly visit on the oppressed of this city’. Honestly, cheap radio plays have better writing than this.”

“It got him a front page article,” Tenzin argued. Then, added sheepishly, “Or whoever it is that’s dressing up.”

Tarrlok huffed and folded the paper one handed, dropping it back on the desk. “Waste of time.”

“Do you think we’re wrong to send in more police?” Tenzin asked, worry bubbling to the surface so quickly that he realised it had to have been there all along, hidden beneath the more pressing issue of talking to Lin.

“Oh, no,” Tarrlok said. “It’s about time the Council takes the triads seriously. I don’t know why Zolt and his ilk aren’t already in a barred-up hole somewhere.”

“Lack of evidence,” Tenzin said, scraping the last of the rice together in a pile at the bottom of his bowl. “The witnesses are too scared to talk until we can guarantee them safety, and we can’t guarantee them safety until they talk.”

“If Avatar Aang could convince witnesses to speak out against a monster like Yakone, then certainly some two-bit upstart like Zolt or Panuk shouldn’t cause trouble,” said Tarrlok, and there was a coldness to his voice, an edge that made Tenzin look up at him with worry. Tarrlok was glaring at the paper.

“My fath-- Avatar Aang was a persuasive man,” Tenzin managed. “And the full protection of the Avatar itself is… no small thing. Certainly more than we mere mortals can offer.”

Tarrlok made a noise, half a sigh, half a huff. “I suppose,” he said. “Speaking of, when will the Avatar be making her triumphant appearance?”

“She’s _nine_ ,” Tenzin reminded him. “You can’t expect a child to take on organised crime. I understand, Tarrlok, I do; I want the triads dealt with as well. But we lack options.”

Tarrlok was about to answer when Tenzin’s telephone started ringing. Tenzin glanced up at the clock; either Pema was early, or something else required his attention. As he sighed and reached for the receiver, Tarrlok smirked at him and leaned closer again. “One of these days,” he said, voice low, “I’m gonna suck you off while you talk to her.”

And then he and his empty bowl were gone before Tenzin could even begin to formulate a response.

The telephone chimed loudly again, and Tenzin jolted, snatching up the receiver. “Yes! Hello, that-- yes?”

“Tenzin?” came Pema’s tinny voice from the transmitter. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, sorry-- hello, dear,” Tenzin stammered, glancing at the half-open door like he could catch the last wisp of Tarrlok’s braids disappearing through. “I was distracted. You’re calling me early today.”

One stilted phone conversation later, Tenzin was soaring above down-town Republic City, trying to let the familiar creaks and tugs of his glider calm him for the task ahead. The Police Headquarters loomed like a great, dark shape below him; some hibernating beast just waiting to wake and lash out.

He tilted his glider down and briefly considered landing on the roof, sneaking in that way, but he could only imagine the uproar.

(Some part of him, preoccupied as always with his guilt, couldn’t help but imagine Pema’s reaction to hearing that Tenzin had snuck in to see his old girlfriend. It only made for a slightly better scenario than if Pema discovered the truth; that Lin was not who she should be worried about at all.)

He came to a smooth landing in front of the entrance, earning only a few glances from passer-bys and the officers leaving and entering. He clicked shut his glider and spent a moment fussing over his robes, painfully aware that he was stalling.

Well. Nothing to be done. He squared his shoulders and marched into the HQ, making his way to where he knew Lin’s office was.

She had her own office now, something that several kindhearted colleagues of his had been very sure he wanted to know. Wasn’t that lovely that a Beifong was rising in the ranks? Especially after that whole scandal with Suyin! Who knew, maybe Republic City would see Toph Beifong’s own daughter as chief one day!

Tenzin didn’t doubt that would be the case, and likely soon, but he wasn’t nearly as riveted by the idea as people expected him to be.

He stopped at a glass-fronted door, the pane neatly printed with the characters for Lin’s name. _Lin Beifong_ , no calligraphic flourishes or other to-do, which Tenzin had no doubt she appreciated.

He drew a breath and knocked, hoping she wasn't in.

“Come,” said Lin sharply from inside.

He pushed open the door to find her at her desk, meticulously cleaning her cable spools. She glanced up, then did a double take.

“Lin,” he greeted her, trying to sound at ease.

“Tenzin." A long, silent moment stretched out, and Lin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

At least he didn’t have to attempt any small talk. “You’ve heard of the increased presence in the Dragon Flats district?”

“Why do you think I’m cleaning the girls,” said Lin, her voice as flat as her eyes. She continued to gently work oil into the gears.

“Well, good, yes,” Tenzin said, shuffling in place and looking around her office. It was bare of decoration and accolades, which he had honestly expected.

“And?” Lin demanded, her voice like a whip crack.

“Uh, yes, you see, about the purpose of that presence,” Tenzin stammered, all the calm he had attained on the flight swiftly draining away.

“To catch some idiot in a mask,” Lin said, apparently deeming Tenzin’s squirming boring and going back to her spools.

“Well, if he’s even real and it’s not just people dressing up as the figure,” Tenzin said. He realised it didn’t sound half as convincing from his mouth as it did from Tarrlok’s. Lin seemed to agree, raising a brow at him, so he forged on, “More pressingly, I was hoping that you could do something about the triads. They’ve been getting bolder.”

Lin held up the spools, the metal clinking cleanly against itself. “Not my orders.”

“Lin,” Tenzin groaned, feeling his shoulders slump. “Please. Can we just have a normal conversation?”

“Alright,” said Lin, and the spools fell to the desk with a loud clatter. “How’s the wife and kid?”

“That is not-- fine. They’re fine,” Tenzin said.

“Finally got that family, huh?” Lin said, her eyes cutting into him like a pair of daggers. “When’re you having another li’l airbender?”

“I don’t see-- fine. You know what? We’re trying for another right now,” Tenzin snapped, feeling his face heat up and hating that he blushed so easily. “So hopefully? Soon! Within the year!”

“Congratulations,” said Lin, insincerity dripping from the word.

Tenzin took a deep breath, gently pushing down the anger, and kept his voice very level when he said, “I just came to ask you, to _please_ consider keeping an eye out for the triads as well. Perhaps even more than this masked man.”

“Who you don’t think exist,” Lin said, clearly not tamping down her own anger.

“I didn’t say that. I’m saying it’s a possibility,” Tenzin said.

Lin sniffed and settled back in her chair, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, pinning Tenzin like some unfortunate bug. He was beginning to remember more reasons their relationship ended rather than just their diverging paths in life. Finally she said, “If we see something illegal, we’ll stop it. That includes triad activity.”

Tenzin huffed a relieved breath. “Thank you.”

“Shut up. It’s part of my job, not a favour to you,” Lin said.

“Even so,” Tenzin forced himself to say, “thank you for hearing me out.”

Lin made a rude sound and stood, swinging the spools onto her back. They clicked neatly into place. “Whatever. Now get out; I have a task to get to.”

Tenzin let her herd him outside. “Well,” he said, struggling to find something polite to bid her farewell with, “I wish you good luck, then.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Lin. “And good luck to you too with knocking up your broodmare.”

All that frustrated anger flooded back, but Tenzin bit his teeth together and settled for giving her a narrow glare. Lin just stared back, uncaring. Very carefully keeping his voice down, Tenzin ground out, “Good day, Officer Beifong.”

“Good day, Councilman,” Lin said with a nasty smirk, turned on her heel and marched off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, two things.
> 
> Firstly, you guys do not know the _temptation_ I had to fight to not write Tenzin going, "I need pictures! Pictures of ~~Spiderman~~ Amon!" at some point during this chapter.
> 
> Secondly, I love Lin and I love writing Lin and I want to be Lin when I grow up.


	5. Chakra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin teaches Tarrlok meditation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is the light of my life and the beta of dreams.
> 
> Edit: there's some NSFW fanart, also by DoubtingRabbit, at the bottom of this chapter, so brace yourselves, my readers!

“I didn’t know Air Nomads got so kinky,” Tarrlok said, holding the scroll up to the light.

“It’s not-- it’s just a normal physical  _ thing _ ,” Tenzin insisted, sitting uncomfortably on the edge of Tarrlok’s sofa.

The waterbender stood by one of his lamps, examining the scroll Tenzin had brought along. “Really? Ass-fucking doesn’t strike you as kinky?” Tarrlok said, glancing at Tenzin. “Especially as some sort of meditative practice? I can promise you that this isn’t how we practice our spirituality in the Water Tribe.”

“Oh, I’m sure all sex in the North is in the dark and under the covers,” Tenzin said, a little mulish.

Tarrlok laughed and turned the scroll. “No,” he said, “but we don’t make sacred documents about it.”

“It’s the other way around,” Tenzin said. “The scroll, I mean.”

That got him an amused look and Tarrlok turned it the right way up again. “How can you tell?”

“The alignments of the chakras.”

“Ah, yes,” said Tarrlok gravely. “The chakras. Yes.”

Tenzin found himself smiling. “The coloured circles.”

“Thank you,” Tarrlok said. “What’s the one over the dick?”

“It’s not-- that’s the water chakra,” Tenzin said, gesturing vaguely at the dip of his own hips. “It deals with pleasure and, inversely, is blocked by guilt.”

“Oh, of course, obviously,” said Tarrlok, tilting his head as if that could help him make sense of the esoteric texts of another nation. It was charming to watch.

Tenzin tried to remember how it had been described to him in his awkward teenage years. “Think of the chakras as a series of cascading pools,” he tried. “The chi flows from one to the other, but each connection can be blocked by-- by emotional detritus.”

The look Tarrlok gave him was decidedly skeptical.

“The detritus can be cleared away,” Tenzin persisted. “Through-- through meditation and understanding--”

“And fucking,” said Tarrlok.

“Among other things, yes!”

Tarrlok laughed, low and warm, and said, “Well, that certainly wasn’t how chi was described to me, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

Tenzin huffed out a breath that he wasn’t sure whether was frustrated or relieved.

One glass of wine later - on Tarrlok’s part - and they were in the bedroom, the one expensive lamp clicking on.

"First, we should be naked," Tenzin said, well aware of how ridiculous he sounded.

Tarrlok was kind enough not to comment, nodding and picking at the fastenings to Tenzin's robes with too-experienced fingers. "Makes sense," he said.

"Slowly," said Tenzin, mostly to himself. The desire to handle this in as brusque a manner as possible to counteract the embarrassment was-- well, he used all his self-control to slowly undo Tarrlok's embroidered tunic.

"Are we supposed to meditate on this too?" said Tarrlok, raising a teasing brow at him as Tenzin's belt fell loose.

"Well, I suppose that, technically, this is all part of a larger meditation session, yes," Tenzin said, managing not to stammer.

Tarrlok nodded with a poorly hidden smirk, undoing the bindings on Tenzin's wrists one after the other.

"Do you-- do you know how to meditate?" Tenzin ventured, unwilling to insult Tarrlok while pushing the tunic off his shoulders.

"I think so. From my understanding, it's pretty close to what I do when I go through my waterbending forms," Tarrlok said, focusing on the clasp of Tenzin's orange robe.

"I-- well, yes, that sounds about right," Tenzin muttered.

Cool air hit the skin of his chest and stomach, and he let Tarrlok push the robe off him. Tarrlok bit his lip, failing to hide an appreciative smile, running his hands over Tenzin's muscles. Pale eyes roved over the expanse of skin now revealed, and Tenzin could see his eyes darkening to a stormy blue with lust. No one could blame him for going bright red. He cleared his throat and started on Tarrlok's silk shirt.

"I really do not know what it is about airbending that's got you so ripped," Tarrlok said, low and distracted, "but I like it."

"All bending practices the body as surely as the mind," Tenzin recited, painfully aware that he was only blushing harder.

"Mm-hm," said Tarrlok and leaned down, running his tongue up one pectoral.

Tenzin’s breath hitched and he tugged a little too hard at Tarrlok's shirt. A button pinged off on a wall somewhere.

"Careful," said Tarrlok, straightening back up. "Amak's not paying me that well."

"I-- I'll replace it," Tenzin stammered, pushing the silk down in turn.

Tarrlok laughed and rolled his shoulders, the shirt pooling around his waist, caught in his trousers. "Oh, that won't be suspicious, Tenzin. Buying gifts for someone else's secretary."

Tenzin didn't answer, not right away, momentarily struck dumb. He was right in that bending built muscles, and Tarrlok was a waterbender through and through; all slender and lean, wiry muscles coiling up his arms and torso like taut ropes. Tenzin swallowed audibly. "I don't have to give it to you at City Hall," he tried.

"Hm, and you think Councilman Tenzin, ascetic extraordinaire, buying an expensive silk shirt will just go unnoticed?" Tarrlok asked, but he was also untying Tenzin's obi at the same time, which was a touch distracting.

"Uh, well, that, uh," stuttered Tenzin, and the belt fell loose, taking his robe to the floor with it.

"You really don't realise how famous you are," Tarrlok murmured, leaning close for a kiss as his clever fingers undid the ties on Tenzin's pants. "A little concerning, given that you're having an affair, but still... charming."

Tenzin cleared his throat, managing not to react when his legs fell bare too. "You're supposed to be focusing on the sexual act, not gossip."

"Oh," said Tarrlok and nodded, his seriousness a mockery of innocence. "Of course, Sifu; my apologies."

He stepped away from Tenzin, undoing the buckle of his own belt. Forcing himself to not watch in rapt attention, Tenzin instead focused on undoing his shoes and shucking what remained of his clothes. Then, of course, he looked back up, and Tarrlok had beat him to it; lean and naked, skin a dark gold in the light of the lamp, and Tenzin's mouth went dry.

"Focusing on the sexual act, are you?" asked Tarrlok idly, knowing the answer full well if his smirk was any indication. He let himself fall back to sit on the bed. Tenzin's focus was overcome for a moment by fantasies of Tarrlok on that bedspread, writhing and moaning. Tarrlok wanton, his braids damp with sweat.

"Close enough," Tenzin said. He managed not to dive into a hard kiss and pressing the waterbender down immediately, instead sedately joining him on the bed, pulling his legs into the lotus position. "Please. Join me."

Tarrlok snickered for a moment, a bright smile flashing across his face and smoothing away again, and then he shifted to face Tenzin, pulling his legs up under him. "Okay," he said, expectant.

"We will begin," intoned Tenzin, reaching to take Tarrlok's hands in his own. "There are seven chakras, and through each chi flows--"

"--like through a series of pools," Tarrlok interrupted him. "Don't tell me this is part of the meditation."

"It's to get in the right mindset," Tenzin said, some of the serenity bleeding out of his voice.

Tarrlok leaned in and kissed him. "But I'm already in the mood," he murmured against Tenzin's lips before returning to his own spot on the bed.

Tenzin breathed deeply through his nose, out through his mouth, letting the irritation drain away. Tarrlok sitting in all his wiry glory, invitation written on his face, helped greatly with that. 

"Alright," he said. "Very well. Come closer." He tugged at Tarrlok's hands and the waterbender obeyed, shuffling towards him across the bedspread till his knees pressed against Tenzin's shins.

"We will begin with the Earth chakra," Tenzin said, releasing those slender fingers and sliding his hands around Tarrlok's waist to rest at the base of his spine. That it brought their faces closer together was hardly a coincidence. "This chakra deals with survival, and is blocked by fear."

"I'm not really seeing the sexy part," Tarrlok said, amused.

Tenzin gave him a significant look. "No? If you're afraid of penetration, how far do you think we'll get?"

Tarrlok opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. "Alright, fair," he finally said.

Satisfied, Tenzin started rubbing small circles on either side of Tarrlok's spine. "So you have to relax. You must let go your fear of pain, of the unfamiliar, and embrace the new--"

"Your cock," said Tarrlok helpfully.

"--with only trust that I will not hurt you," continued Tenzin, ignoring him.

Some of the amusement faded from Tarrlok's face, and for a moment he looked uncertain, searching Tenzin's eyes. "I trust you," he said finally.

Tenzin smiled, a warmth spreading in his chest that he didn't want to dwell on too long, still rubbing small circles into his lover's back. "Good. I'm glad."

Tarrlok closed the space between them and kissed him, and Tenzin could feel the muscles of Tarrlok's lower back relaxing under his fingers, could feel the waterbender's lanky form all but melt against him. When the kiss ended, Tenzin spent a moment resting in it, letting the lingering tingle on his lips consume him before he ran his hands up to Tarrlok's hips.

"Now; the second chakra."

Tarrlok watched him expectantly for the next step.

"The second chakra is the Water chakra," Tenzin said, "and it deals with pleasure, but is blocked by guilt, and it lies here." Somehow he managed to remain serene and not flush a bright red as he slid his hands between Tarrlok's thighs to cup his sex.

"Well, clearly I've never felt guilty in my life," Tarrlok said. "I get plenty of use out of that chakra."

Tenzin gave him a Look, receiving only a snicker in return. "Lie back."

Tarrlok obeyed with a small smirk, shifting back and unfolding his long legs, letting Tenzin push them apart as he flopped back on the bed.

"Guilt roots us in the past and prevents us from experiencing the pleasures of the present," Tenzin said, running his hands along the line where Tarrlok's thighs met his body, around the base of his cock, under the skin of his sac. The last one got a small, stifled gasp from the waterbender.

"Are you sure this is about sex and not just therapy?" Tarrlok asked, voice carefully casual.

"It's meditation through sex," Tenzin reminded him, drawing a slow stroke of his fingers up Tarrlok's shaft. "So. Consider what guilt haunts you, and understand that it lies in the past. It's done and over, and in the present it can no longer be changed. Accept your guilt and release it, giving yourself permission to feel joy."

Tarrlok swallowed and shifted, eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Easier said than done," he muttered, low enough that Tenzin barely heard it.

"The past is the past," Tenzin said, somehow managing to still sound serene as he realised he'd left a rather important object in his discarded clothes. "You cannot change it, but what harm you may have caused is over," he continued, increasingly distracted as he tried to snag his robe off the floor without moving away.

"What are you doing?" Tarrlok said with a laugh, pushing himself up to his elbows.

"I need the damn oil," Tenzin said with a huff, giving up any pretense of serenity. "Hold on." He gave up and scrambled off the bed, rooting through the robe to the sound of Tarrlok's chuckling.

"First-time teaching, huh?" teased Tarrlok, making no effort to sound anything but deeply amused.

Tenzin clambered back on the bed and into a proper lotus position, ignoring Tarrlok's needling and popping open the bottle.

"The past is the past," he said primly. “What harm you have caused there is over.”

"Already got to that part," Tarrlok said.

"I'm about to  _ cause  _ harm to you if you don't behave," Tenzin grumbled and was rewarded with another warm laugh.

Tarrlok flopped back down, his grin becoming a more rueful smile. "The hurt is in the past," he recited dutifully. "Release my guilt. I'm allowed to feel pleasure in the present."

"Exactly," said Tenzin, "you cannot change what has happened, so accept it."

Tarrlok said nothing. Tenzin could hear him swallow in the sudden quiet. He glanced up, concerned, but Tarrlok's face was carefully blank, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. Curiosity tugged at Tenzin, but he stopped himself from prying, instead coating his fingers in the oil. Still, he found himself sounding less like a teacher as he went on, "Forgive yourself for your past. The pain you feel is real, but it need not govern you."

Again Tarrlok stayed silent, and Tenzin noticed one of his hands curling in the bedspread. Tenzin breathed deeply, running his slick fingers over Tarrlok's skin and circling his hole. Tarrlok trembled with an in-kept gasp.

"Ground yourself in the present," Tenzin said gently. "You are allowed the present. You are allowed this pleasure."

"I would be more grounded if we just started fucking," muttered Tarrlok, but there was a roughness to his voice that belied his words.

"Patience," Tenzin said, increasing the pressure carefully. "Remember; release your fear and let go your guilt. Trust me and dwell in the present." The constriction of muscle under his fingers relaxed, and he could press in one finger to the first knuckle.

Tarrlok made a face, still avoiding Tenzin's eyes. "That feels weird," he said into the air.

"It'll feel better," Tenzin assured him. He was less than confident in the statement, but he had to trust in the scroll, if nothing else.

He began a low meditation chant, half waiting for a wry comment from Tarrlok that didn't come, as he worked his finger deeper, worked Tarrlok more relaxed and accepting. Sure enough, bit by bit the crease between Tarrlok's eyebrows smoothed out, even as he grew more accepting around Tenzin's fingers. A sudden, low gasp made Tenzin stop chanting for a moment, looking at him with concern. 

"Oh," said Tarrlok under his breath, "okay."

"Tarrlok?" prodded Tenzin.

"It's fine, keep going," said Tarrlok with a brief smile. "Just, uh, where you had your fingers before. That was good."

Tenzin's brows raised, wondering why the scroll couldn't have bothered to mention this eventuality, but he repeated the motion, his fingers crooking slightly inside the waterbender. He was rewarded with a more audible gasp and a shift of Tarrlok's hips.

"Okay, yes, I get it now," Tarrlok said, his voice trembling. "That. Keep doing that."

"Well, alright," Tenzin replied, obediently rocking his fingers forward again, and then again, watching with fascination the way Tarrlok's eyes fluttered shut, and his mouth fell open in a low noise that was almost a moan.

Tarrlok licked his lips, hips rocking upwards. "When, uh... when's the next chakra?" he said, but Tenzin thought he didn't sound all that interested in moving on.

"When we reach penetration," Tenzin said, rocking his fingers in an increasingly steady rhythm.

"What, and this isn't?" said Tarrlok, raising his head to look at him.

"Penetration with the, uh, phallus," Tenzin corrected, and of course now his face decided it was the right time to turn red, ears burning. Thankfully Tarrlok was too preoccupied to notice, slumping back with another moan.

"Your dick, you mean," he breathed. "Mm, that's good."

"Well, the scroll doesn't lie," Tenzin said lamely.

To be honest, he was surprised at the change himself; from Tarrlok's frown and distant guilt, to Tarrlok flushed and writhing in increasingly interesting ways.

The waterbender had started curving sinuously off the bed with each strike of Tenzin's fingers, and Tenzin swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Maybe-- maybe those Air Nomads knew what they were doing," Tarrlok managed. One long leg hooked over Tenzin's thigh, giving him leverage to rock his hips more firmly.

"Slowly," Tenzin said, putting his free hand on one dark, sharp hipbone to stop him.

"Ugh, why?" demanded Tarrlok, raising his head with a pout.

"It's meditation," Tenzin reminded him. "It's meant to be drawn out."

Tarrlok rolled his eyes, pushing himself up to his elbows. "We both have work tomorrow, so it'd better not take all night."

"It won't," Tenzin promised. "Just relax. Enjoy it."

He picked the steady rocking of his fingers back up. Aside from flopping down with a frustrated  _ whuff! _ Tarrlok made no other comment, only letting his legs drop further apart. He couldn't have been that irritated, either, because soon his breathing came in time with each thrust, and he was gnawing on his lower lip, hips rocking what little Tenzin allowed.

He was breathtakingly beautiful. And so Tenzin leaned over him and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Aren't you supposed to be chanting?" Tarrlok asked, but his hand cupped the back of Tenzin's head and pulled him into a lazy, wet kiss.

Technically, he was right, of course; they were both supposed to be chanting, focusing on their chakras. But Tarrlok's tongue was teasing at Tenzin's, and his ass was a tight promise around Tenzin's fingers; it was hard to care.

Tarrlok broke the kiss with a soft bite to Tenzin's lips and murmured, "Can we move onto the next chakra now?"

"Yes," Tenzin said, fully aware that the scroll stipulated otherwise-- the scroll was ink and paper, and Tarrlok was alive and willing; it was no contest at all. He drew away from the waterbender, pulling his fingers free, and found that damn bottle of oil again. Tarrlok's writhing and noises already had him passably hard.

Tarrlok, apparently intent on being as lewd as possible, curled dark, slender fingers around his own cock, massaging the length of it with a wanton whimper.

"Tease," said Tenzin and deliberately didn't rush in slicking himself up.

Tarrlok laughed, low and husky, and continued to make a tempting spectacle of himself. Tenzin ran his hands, slick with oil, up the corded muscles of Tarrlok's thighs and shifted forward till the head of his prick rested against Tarrlok's hole.

"The third chakra," he said, his voice somehow very level, "is the Fire chakra. It governs willpower and is blocked by shame, and it rests in the stom--"

"Isn't guilt and shame the same thing?" said Tarrlok, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Uh," managed Tenzin, flustered. "There-- there are subtle differences. Are you-- are you ashamed of the same thing you feel guilt about?"

Tarrlok's face tightened slightly, and he slumped down. "How's the Fire chakra sexy?" he demanded instead of answering.

Tenzin blinked and cleared his throat. "We are about to reach penetration," he said. "It will be new and perhaps frightening, but you must have the will to--"

"Just fucking put your dick in me already," Tarrlok said, reaching down to grab at Tenzin's cock as if to take care of it himself.

"Tarrlok!" Tenzin sputtered.

"I've got plenty of willpower," said Tarrlok, smirking at him, all crooked and teasing. "C'mon."

How well had Tenzin bothered to obey the scroll so far? He bit his lip and rocked forward, Tarrlok's ass giving way around the head more easily than he'd expected.

"Oh!" hiccupped Tarrlok, eyes wide. "Oh, uh..."

Tenzin forced himself to stop, even at that first maddening promise of heat and tightness. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yes," Tarrlok said, nodding a little too quickly. "Just... more than I expected."

"I think we're a little past flattery," said Tenzin with a flushed smile of his own.

Tarrlok snorted. "Go on; I'm fine."

Tenzin laughed slightly, but did as he was told, only too grateful to press in further. Tarrlok fitted around him as if molded, and Tenzin hissed at the tight heat gliding up around his shaft.

"Oh, fuck," gasped Tarrlok, his voice breaking.

Tenzin glanced down at where Tarrlok was taking him, the ring of muscle glittering wet and quivering around his shaft, and the sight made a pleasant tremble go up his spine. He swallowed and forced himself to focus on Tarrlok's face instead.

"You're doing very well."

"Sure, yeah, sure," Tarrlok said. "Deeper."

"I'm not hurting you?" said Tenzin.

"Not if you keep going," Tarrlok said, irritation making it through the otherwise breathless bemusement.

And, well, who was Tenzin to refuse? He settled his hands on Tarrlok's hips, and pressed deeper in that wet, quivering heat, tearing a moan from his own throat.

Tarrlok gasped, the noise edging on shrill, and his back arched. "Yes!" he said, fingers curling into the bedspread.

Tenzin swallowed. "Th-the willpower to accept the new--" he stammered.

"I accept it!" Tarrlok interrupted him. "Would you just fucking move!"

"You're terrible at meditation," Tenzin said, but his hips rolled in an eager thrust of its own accord, jolting Tarrlok's body.

"I don't care, I don't, just...  _ please _ ," Tarrlok breathed, the side of his face pressed into the pillow, eyes closed tight.

Tenzin bit his lip and obeyed, knowing full well he was moving too fast, but when he pressed in to the hilt and Tarrlok moaned loudly, his sky-blue eyes rolling back, Tenzin couldn't care either. He loomed over the waterbender, letting his body take over, the bed creaking merrily beneath them.

Sliding his arms around Tarrlok's slim waist, lifting his hips to ease the penetration, was as easy and natural as breathing, and for a moment Tenzin forgot about scrolls and meditations, letting himself be lost in the rhythm of their joining. A shaky hand running up his arm, clenching around his bicep, brought him as much back to his senses as was possible.

"Tarrlok?" he asked, surprised to find his own voice wavering.

Tarrlok made a noise in the back of his throat that might have been a, "Yes?" His eyes were half-closed and his neck stretched back, the elegant tendons trembling as his jaw worked. Tenzin could have been lost in the sight alone, even without the tight warmth clenching around his prick.

"You like it, don't you," Tenzin breathed in something like wonder.

"Mm," hummed Tarrlok, and his long legs crossed behind Tenzin's back. "I definitely get it now."

Tenzin bit his lip and forced himself to focus. "The-- the next chakra," he said, "is the Air chakra. It deals in love, and is blocked by grief, and resides in the heart."

Tarrlok laughed in a way that was half a moan, and his fingers slid up to link together behind Tenzin's neck, tugging him down for another lazy kiss. "I think we can skip that one," he murmured teasingly, but there was a hard glint in his eye, something like a warning.

"Why?" said Tenzin, knowing full well he was treading on dangerous ground and doing it anyway. He rolled his hips forward hard, driving that warning from Tarrlok's face. "If we grieve perpetually, if we let that pain consume us, we shut ourselves off to love."

Tarrlok swallowed hard, and that crease appeared between his eyebrows again. "You-- you don't need to be concerned about my capacity for love," he said. "It's nothing to do with you."

"If you're grieving something..." said Tenzin, unable to help himself.

Tarrlok's fingers dug hard into the nape of Tenzin's neck, and he gave the airbender a flushed glare. "Next chakra."

Tenzin opened his mouth to argue, wanting to draw that angry pain from Tarrlok's eyes like sucking venom from a wound, but then thought better of it when his lover squirmed and rolled his hips up, clenching around him. The words were lost in a choked moan.

"Next chakra," Tarrlok hummed in his ear, nipping at the lobe.

"Alright." Tenzin gathered his thoughts as well as he could, trying to remember what came next. "The next one is, ah... is the Sound chakra."

"Why's it called the Sound chakra?" Tarrlok said, but his tone didn't sound particularly interested.

Tenzin shifted their positions suddenly - much faster than the scroll prescribed, for one - letting himself drop back onto the bed and dragging Tarrlok up by his slim waist. The waterbender slid fully onto his cock like a dream, gravity burying him in Tarrlok's trembling ass to the root.

The noise that pulled from Tarrlok - raw and shocked, pure wanton pleasure - was second only to the expression; mouth dropping open, eyes falling shut and head thrown back, overcome. One of his braids had swung over his shoulder, ends sticking to his skin.

"O-oh," Tarrlok croaked.

Tenzin smiled breathlessly up at him. "It concerns truth," he said, "and is blocked by lies, and it lies-- it lies in the throat."

"Uh-huh," said Tarrlok, drawing his legs under him to straddle Tenzin.

"It is the lies we tell ourselves, the ways we deny our nature, that blocks-- oh, Tarrlok, that's--" The waterbender had started rolling his hips, easy as the tide, riding Tenzin's cock like he'd been born to do it.

"It-- it blocks the truths of our being," Tenzin tried, but Tarrlok's slender hands came to rest on Tenzin's chest, and he began moving in earnest, drawing off Tenzin's prick and jolting back down in short, eager bursts.

"To-- to accept the truth of who we are--" Tenzin said, but Tarrlok had clearly stopped paying attention entirely.

"Oh, fuck, that's so good," the waterbender moaned, his nails digging into Tenzin's pectorals as if he was afraid he'd fall off otherwise. His rocking had taken on a frantic edge, and Tenzin was dimly aware of the sound of the bedframe thumping gently against the wall.

"Tarrlok, Tarrlok, slow down," Tenzin gasped, grabbing his hips and stopping him.

"What? Why?" Tarrlok opened his eyes and gave him a confused and deeply irritated look.

Tenzin pushed himself up to sit, unable to resist a kiss to one swooping collarbone before saying, "Meditation, Tarrlok. We still have two chakras to go."

Tarrlok rolled his eyes eloquently, but settled into Tenzin's lap, some of that wild need fading. "Fine, alright. Accept the truth, reject the lies we tell us about ourselves-- what are you doing?"

Tenzin had, without much realising it, taken hold of Tarrlok's braid, tugging the tie free and watching the sweat-damp strands unravel. "Oh! Sorry, I-- I've never seen you with your hair down?"

Tarrlok scoffed. "Tell you what," he said, plucking the braid from Tenzin's fingers, "I'll unravel them if you tell me about the next chakra and then fuck me until your cock unblocks my Sound chakra. Deal?"

Absurdly, Tenzin felt his blush deepen past exertion, but he nodded, hands settling back on Tarrlok's hips. "Next is the, uhm... Light chakra. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion--"

"So truth and lies all over again," Tarrlok said, expertly unweaving one braid before reaching back for another. Little wooden beads fell to the mattress, unheeded by either man.

"No, illusions about the rest of the world," Tenzin corrected. "You-- you're missing the point of this entirely."

"You know what point I'm not missing?" Tarrlok asked as the second braid fell loose and he grabbed the last one over his shoulder. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Tenzin's ear before murmuring, "That I really,  _ really _ like having your dick in my ass, and I wish you'd meditate on how to make me come."

The last braid unraveled, and Tarrlok shook out his hair; a waist-long, gleaming stream of thick chestnut, shimmering gold in the light. A dark, warm halo falling across Tarrlok's shoulders, his eyes burned a brighter blue. He looked like some debauched night-spirit, shadowed and beautiful and dangerous.

Whatever thought Tenzin had of continuing to follow the scroll vanished. "Alright," he breathed, releasing his hold on Tarrlok's hips. "Go on."

The smile that earned him was triumphant, and Tarrlok's hands settled on Tenzin's shoulders, pushing him back on the bed again. Tarrlok straightened up and, quickly and easily, found his rhythm again.

"You're beautiful," Tenzin breathed at the vision he made.

Tarrlok laughed breathlessly, not pausing in his movements, taking Tenzin's prick with a speed and eagerness that neither had probably imagined. "I think I prefer handsome," he managed.

"You're too ethereal to be just handsome," Tenzin said, too rapt to be embarrassed by his own romanticism.

Thankfully Tarrlok seemed to be in no mood to mock him. He settled back in Tenzin's lap, foregoing the energetic bouncing for short, tight grinding of his hips, clenching tight around Tenzin.

"Oh, fuck, fuck, yes, Tenzin," he breathed, eyes closing tight.

Tenzin ran trembling hands over his skin, damp all over now with sweat, kneading at his waist, creeping over the arched curve of his lower back. What was meditation compared to this? Compared to Tarrlok moving like a spirit of water, engulfing Tenzin's sex in quivering, tight heat, manicured nails digging into Tenzin's shoulders?

Tarrlok fell over into a kiss so abruptly that, until his lips pressed panting and sloppily against Tenzin's, the airbender feared he was passing out. Dark hair fell like a veil around them, engulfing the kiss in a gold-tinted twilight, and the sound Tarrlok made was nothing so much as a sob.

"Tarrlok," Tenzin gasped, his hands pressing tight on the soft arch of his lover's back.

Tarrlok whimpered against the corner of his mouth and Tenzin realised he didn't know what to say; he had no words for this moment. Instead he tilted his chin up, claimed a kiss of his own. He pulled one hand from Tarrlok's slick back, untangled it from strands of sweat-soaked hair, and shakily wrapped it around Tarrlok's cock, tugging at him in time with the waterbender's own frantic grinding.

"Full Moon, yes," Tarrlok moaned, deep and raw, burying his face in the crook of Tenzin's neck. His hair smelled like lilacs, and of course it did.

It wasn't enough. Even with Tarrlok rocking in place, clutching at Tenzin, it still wasn't enough.

Tenzin wound his free arm around Tarrlok's waist and  _ heaved _ , using the weight and motion of the waterbender to roll his body beneath him and, with mute instinct and need guiding him, Tenzin drove deep enough to snap those dark, slender hips up.

"Oh, fuck!" Tarrlok croaked, head thrown back. His hair fanned around him on the pale blue bed, and he dug scratches down Tenzin's collarbones.

The pain didn't even register. There was only Tarrlok, wanton and willing; the open, slick, tight hole Tenzin was rutting into desperately; the warm cock twitching between Tenzin's fingers, trickling in promise.

"Right there, right there," begged Tarrlok in a breathless rush, his legs clamping tight over Tenzin's hips, letting him meet every hard thrust.

"You're perfect," Tenzin said in wonder. "How are you so perfect?"

Tarrlok didn't hear him, sobbing and clasping a hand over his mouth to silence it. His whole body curved in a beautiful arch, nearly knocking Tenzin back, come spattering across his stomach and chest.

"So perfect," Tenzin gasped, wringing another few frantic thrusts from their coupling - sinking deep into Tarrlok's ass and rolling his hips as if to sink deeper - before pulling out, and spilling his own seed on the ruffled cover of the bed.

"Oh," Tarrlok gasped, his breath coming hard and fast, and he slumped back on the bed, limbs falling loosely down.

Tenzin realised he was breathing hard enough himself for it to hurt. He swallowed and forced his breathing calm, letting himself slump down beside Tarrlok. 

They lay there for a moment, Tarrlok's breath slowing as well, and Tenzin found himself idly trailing patterns through the splatter on Tarrlok's skin. He realised dimly he was lying on his lover's hair, but he would worry about that later.

"So, what's the last one?" Tarrlok asked suddenly, voice hoarse.

"Hm?" said Tenzin, confused.

"The last chakra," Tarrlok said, turning his head - or as much as Tenzin lying on his hair allowed him - to smile, crooked and real, at him. "What is it?"

Tenzin blinked and tried to focus. "The Thought chakra," he said at last. "It connects us to, uhm, the pure cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachments."

Tarrlok’s smile became a smirk, and he raised a mocking eyebrow. "Well, then you're pretty screwed, aren't you?"

"There's nothing earthly about you," Tenzin shot back, and Tarrlok laughed.

"If that's your way of saying you found the way to enlightenment through my ass," he chuckled, "then I thank you."

Tenzin huffed in feigned irritation and leaned over to kiss him. "An enlightened pest, you are."

"Well, clearly," said Tarrlok, wrapping his arms around Tenzin's shoulders, "since I just went through all the chakras, guided and all. Just call me guru." And he pulled Tenzin down for another kiss.

  
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/183218036@N07/50355120608/in/dateposted-public/)   
_art by DoubtingRabbit_   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this is, uh... this is 5000+ words of porn. Sure is.
> 
> I'm just gonna go ahead and claim it's to tide everyone over for the next two chapters of no-porn and pretend it was on purpose. _Yes._


	6. The Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin juggles toddlers and revolutionaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit, beta of the gods.

“Daddy! Daddy, look!” insisted Jinora, her sticky fingers tugging at Tenzin’s beard.

“In a minute, sweetie,” Tenzin said, trying to keep his tone calm as he juggled a toddler in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. He felt queasy as it was and the added stress did nothing to help.

One of his aides relieved him of the papers. “Any news, sir?”

“Wha-- oh, no,” Tenzin said, getting more flustered by the minute. “They said they’d call as soon as Pema had given birth, but-- these things can take time?”

“Tenzin!” Amak called out, marching into his office like a ruffled otter penguin, waving yet another paper - this one colourfully printed - in the air. “I said it! I said they should have c-c- _ caught _ that menace long ago!”

Tarrlok followed in his boss’ tracks, but Tenzin was too preoccupied to feel any pleasure at the sight of him.

“What?!” he demanded, a little too sharply. Jinora made a soft, startled noise, her lower lip wobbling. “No, no, no, sweetie, daddy isn’t mad,” Tenzin said, reaching for whatever it was Amak was flinging around.

“Urban legend,” Amak spat and stuck the thing - a pamphlet - into his hand. “hah!”

Tenzin flipped the pamphlet right side up and frowned at the stylised mask on the front. Their vigilante had apparently taken the time to add decoration if the print was any indication.

“‘Nonbenders of all nations’,” he read aloud, “‘unite!’ What on earth is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that we have some radical rabble rouser on our hands!” said Amak, gesturing as if he didn’t know what else to do with his hands. “Read it! Read the whole thing!”

“Can’t this wait?” Tenzin said, half a groan. “I have paperwork, and Pema is giving birth, and Jinora--”

“I’m getting a baby sister!” exclaimed Jinora excitedly.

“Or brother,” Tenzin reminded her.

Realising her father’s attention was finally on her, Jinora lit up and said again, “Daddy, look!” She flung out a gust of air and sent a memo flying from his hand. Tenzin let it fall and smiled tiredly down at her.

“That’s very good, Jinora. You’ll have your arrows before you know it.”

“No, it c-c-c--  _ won’t _ wait!” Amak said. “Read it! Utter madness!”

Tarrlok, meanwhile, picked up the memo and slid it neatly back onto the desk. “A nonbending activist,” he said, a little tightly.

“That’s-- what? How does that work?” Tenzin said. “Activism for what?”

“A load of nonsense! It says that benders have spent untold ages oppressing nonbenders, that they need to c-cast off their shackles! Have you ever heard such lunacy?! It’s going to incite riots!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Tenzin said, gently blocking Jinora’s hand before she could cause any more havoc to the paperwork upon his desk.

“Here, sir, I’ll take her,” Tarrlok said.

There was an odd expression on his face, and Tenzin felt a moment’s hesitation of handing his daughter over to his lover, but in the end Amak’s increasingly red-faced stuttering won out.

“Be nice for Tarrlok,” he told Jinora, passing her into the waterbender’s arms and reading the pamphlet in earnest.

The pamphlet was a simple thing; small and printed in wine-red on white paper, the text somehow both stilted and articulate. Tenzin skimmed it with an ever-deepening frown. He thought he was starting to understand Tarrlok’s clear unease, though Amak’s theatrics seemed somewhat over the top. Whoever wrote this - ‘Amon’, presumably - was clearly passionate about his cause, and just as clearly angry. And in the pit of Tenzin’s stomach, the pamphlet kindled the clear feeling that, angry or not, this Amon wasn’t entirely wrong.

“You see?” Amak demanded when Tenzin looked up. “Do you see?!”

“I see a very frustrated man who’s trying to right something he sees as wrong,” Tenzin said, his voice as soothing as a lullaby. “Please calm down.”

“This is what happens when vigilantes are allowed to roam,” Amak went on, well and truly off on a tear. “It goes to their heads! Now this-- what if there’s a riot, Tenzin?! Did you see what he wrote about the C-Council? What if he comes here?!”

The source of Amak’s worries laid clear, he at last fell silent, and Tenzin held up a hand.

“If he comes here, we’ll peacefully hear him, and his supposed riot, out. Any citizen of the United Republic is allowed to put forth their case.”

That proved the wrong thing to say. A new and terrified light lit in Amak’s eyes. “What if he isn't? What if he’s an outside agitator from the Earth K-K-K--” He gritted his teeth and forced out, “ _ Kingdom _ . What then? Hou-Ting’s been trying to reclaim Republic lands ever since she ascended the throne!”

“I don’t see how funding an anti-bending movement would help her with that,” Tenzin said. “Isn’t she surrounded by benders?”

“Philosophy wouldn’t matter,” Amak insisted, “chaos would! An attempt to throw the entire Republic into disarray!”

“Or,” Tenzin said, holding up the pamphlet, “we keep our heads cool, wait and see. Maybe this is a legitimate movement, and if so they have the right to gather and speak just like everyone else. Panic helps no one, Amak.”

Amak took deep breaths, crossing and uncrossing his arms, clearly trying to calm down. Tenzin glanced over at the window where Tarrlok stood with Jinora; the toddler was babbling away, Tenzin vaguely caught the word ‘sister’ being thrown around a lot, and Tarrlok was cradling her easily. His face, however, seemed caught somewhere between sadness and fear as he looked down at Jinora.

Tenzin frowned and took a half step towards them, but then Amak threw up a hand in something like a petulant surrender.

“Fine,” Amak said, voice curt but finally calmed. “You’re right. No need to incite a panic. We’ll wait.”

“Thank you,” said Tenzin, letting the relief seep into his eyes.

The other Councilman nodded curtly and snatched the pamphlet back, clearly intent on at least showing it around to someone more susceptible to his agitation. “Good day,” he said, and spirits, Tenzin hoped he didn’t sound that uptight when he said it. “Come along, Tarrlok.”

Tarrlok moved to return Jinora to Tenzin’s arms, and Tenzin smiled briefly at him.

The waterbender didn’t return it, only meeting his eyes briefly. “I’m not sure I agree with you,” he said. Then, with one last look at Jinora filled with that strange fear, he followed Amak out of the office.

“Daddy, can I name my sister?” Jinora said in his ear, her tiny arms wrapping too hard around his neck.

“Or brother,” Tenzin sighed, not bothering to dislodge her. “And that depends on the name.”

“I don’t want an icky brother,” Jinora said, kicking her feet and hitting Tenzin very precisely in the kidney.

He winced and hefted her higher. “Did Tarrlok say anything to you, sweetie?”

“No,” Jinora said. “He’s weird. Why’s he have ponytails?”

The phone rang, loud and shrill, and Tenzin lunged at it so fast that Jinora nearly tumbled onto the desk. “Hello?”

The conversation was a blur; just born, both mother and child alive and well, another girl-- Tenzin could hear the wailing of a newborn child in the background. He held Jinora tightly and grabbed his glider, already making for the roof, Tarrlok and his strange mood slipping from his mind like water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fun canonical fact: Tarrlok being weirdly sad around Tenzin's kids isn't something I made up! It's from the show!
> 
> In ep 4, after Tarrlok gets politely booted out of the Air Temple Island evening meal, keep a close look on his face as he leaves. He goes from irritation to bone-deep sadness just before the scene cuts.


	7. The Autumn Equinox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin throws a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit betaði kumblr þausi.

As winter belonged to the Water Tribes, summer to the Fire Nation and spring to the Earth Kingdom, so autumn belonged to the Air Nomads; all three of them, and possibly soon to be four. 

Air Temple Island had been turned into as much of a grand spectacle as a monastery could be, lanterns hanging from each doorway and flags embroidered with blessings dangling from every roof. It would never be the grand feast that the other nations offered up on their holidays, but Tenzin thought he was at least making a decent attempt.

Ikki, two years old and more rambunctious than her sister had ever been, was chasing Jinora through the rows of chairs set up across the courtyard on wobbly legs. Jinora in turn was making sure not to outrun her, their laughter mingling with the warm-up chant of the acolytes.

“Careful, girls,” Pema called. “Don’t knock anything over.” She was leaning on Tenzin’s arm, one hand cradling her swollen belly.

“It’s fine,” Tenzin assured her, slowly leading her to one of the chairs. “There’s nothing in here that can’t suffer being broken. “Stay here, rest, and I’ll take care of everything.”

The food was being set out, a spread that was as close to finger-foods as Air Nomad cuisine - always a communal affair - allowed. The five acolytes had moved on from humming and chanting to tuning their instruments. 

Tenzin had even memorised an appropriately acrobatic demonstration of airbending to wow the guests.

(He found himself desperately looking forward to the day that Jinora and Ikki could take over that task, so that he would no longer be forced to perform like a circus animal. At least Pema liked it, he supposed.)

The last details fell into place under Tenzin's guidance, likely more despite his interference than because of it, and little by little the boats began to arrive and the guests trickled onto the island, a stream of glittering, gowned bodies. Tenzin handed over the greeting duties to two older acolytes and hid away in the shadow of the men’s wing, feeling like he had lost his breath.

He was used to Republic City; he was used to City Hall; he was around heaving crowds every day of his life. But to see them here, on the island that was both his culture and his sanctuary, was never anything less than nerve wracking.

A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see Tarrlok leaning on the wall next to him. The waterbender looked very smart, all done up in a silken waistcoat and woolen frock coat, his usually elaborate hair even moreso, braided through with beads and silver clamps.

“You’re being a terrible host,” Tarrlok said lightly.

“I’ve been running around all day,” Tenzin moaned, slumping against the wall himself. “The sooner this party is over, the better.”

That got him a laugh, and then Tarrlok’s slim hands were on him, correcting the drape of his robe, smoothing down errand strands on his beard.

Tenzin glanced around, but they were well-hidden. Apparently Tarrlok was aware of that, because he leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss, and Tenzin couldn’t find it in himself to push him away until Tarrlok decided to end the kiss himself.

“You-- you look good,” Tenzin stammered, well aware of how red he’d gone and hoping the shadows hid it.

Tarrlok clearly noticed, his grin glittering, and he stepped back to show off. “It’s fancy, isn’t it? I thought it only right; I  _ am _ campaigning.”

“Yes, I saw your advertisements,” Tenzin said and tried not to notice specifically how well Tarrlok’s calves looked in those fine, fitted stockings. “Very, ah, passionate.”

“Passion wins votes,” Tarrlok said.

“How about smear campaigns?” Tenzin said, looking back up at Tarrlok’s face.

The waterbender scoffed.

“Yutu’s a wet blanket,” he said, dismissive. “He’d be useless in any real government, and all I’m doing is informing the people of that fact.”

Tenzin pushed away from the wall, glancing around a bush at the continuing stream of people. “He’s vying for Chief Unalaq’s favour,” he said over his shoulder.

“He won’t get it,” Tarrlok said, more irritated now. “Amak supports me, and Unalaq trusts Amak for some moon-forsaken reason. You sound like you don’t even want me on the Council, Tenzin. What, are you afraid you can’t stop yourself from flirting openly with me?”

“Of course I want you on the Council,” Tenzin said, turning back from his preoccupation with the growing crowd and, despite himself, finding Tarrlok’s pout charming. “I’m just uneasy about some of your positions.”

He knew that was the wrong thing to say as soon as he’d said it, and sure enough, Tarrlok grinned like a fox. “Oh,” Tarrlok said, “I’m sure I can find some positions that are agreeable to you.”

Tenzin sighed loudly, adjusting his belt. “I need to get back to the party,” he said, knowing full well it was an excuse to not be trapped in an embarrassing situation. "I'm being a terrible host, after all."

“Alright, run away,” said Tarrlok, clearly aware of it too and deeply amused. “I need to go mingle-- ah, fuck, there’s Yutu.” Tenzin blinked at the sudden shift in tone, but Tarrlok was already moving past him. “I have to head him off before the jackass lays siege to Amak.”

“I’ll-- I’ll talk to you later, then,” Tenzin said at Tarrlok’s retreating back.

Left alone once more, Tenzin noticed that the music had started up; low, simple scales, meant as meditation music and now bastardised to be background noise for a soirée. He felt guilty about that, but honestly, what didn’t he feel guilty about? At least it was in an attempt to show off what could be salvaged of his culture.

He rejoined the stream of people and was immediately waylaid by Azun who wore the wide, nervous smile of a domesticated armadillo lion among a flock of angry koala sheep; probably to be expected from a Fire Nation representative at an Air Nomad festival.

“Tenzin! This is so lovely!” the Chairman said, gesturing at both the lanterns and, somehow, the tile. “Very rustic!”

“Uh, well, thank you, it’s-- it’s traditional architecture,” Tenzin said for lack of anything more intelligent.

“Really!” breathed Azun, taking it all in as if they didn’t do this same awkward song-and-dance every year.

“Yes,” said Tenzin, “we did the best we could to follow the proper methods and building techniques, but there are so few scrolls--” Azun’s smile grew very strained, and Tenzin immediately switched tracks, “Would you believe me if I told you that there’s not a single nail in this entire construction?”

“Amazing!” said Azun, crossing his arms nervously, and then immediately uncrossing them when he realised he was doing it.

“Thank you, by the way, for the donation,” Tenzin said, another part of their yearly ritual. “You really didn’t have to.”

“Oh, it’s the least we could do!” Azun said, forcing his face into something appropriately somber.

_ It really is _ , Tenzin thought but didn’t say. It was ridiculous; Azun’s grandfather hadn’t even been born when Firelord Sozin committed the Air Nomad genocide, but something about the Chairman’s constant nervous babbling, laced through with hereditary guilt, made anger curdle Tenzin’s stomach. What he said aloud was, “Very gracious of you, really. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it,” Azun said, waving his hands around.

“Please, do enjoy the party,” was the most polite way Tenzin could think of to extract himself from the conversation.

He moved through the throng, caught sight of several high to-do people. Here a model, there an industrialist, off in the distance was Councilwoman Kirima being beset by winged lemurs and looking very worried about it despite little Jinora’s attempts to calm her.

Tenzin looked for Ikki and found her by Pema who was-- who was talking to Tarrlok. A cold chill ran down Tenzin’s spine, though he wasn’t sure why. Certainly Tarrlok had no more interest in their affair being revealed than himself.

He tried to move towards them, but was intercepted by a man with a dour sort of face who it took Tenzin’s a moment to recognise.

“Ah, Mr. Yutu, is it?” he asked nervously.

“Councilman Tenzin,” Yutu intoned, grabbing his hand too-tightly and shaking it, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You may be aware that I’m campaigning for a seat in the Council when Amak retires at the end of this term.”

“Ah, yes, I have, um, been made aware,” Tenzin said, glancing towards Pema and Tarrlok. They were both looking at him, Tarrlok clearly talking about him.

“You may also be familiar with my opponent.” Yutu continued, voice grave, “and he may even have attempted to gain your support, but I assure you, sir, everything Tarrlok has been saying about me is patently untrue. He is a conniving scoundrel and a charlatan, and he came from nothing where-as I, sir, am from one of the foremost families in the North.”

“Oh?” Tenzin said vaguely, trying to extract his hand. Tarrlok was clearly amused, but no longer looking at him. Pema was frowning, though whether at Tenzin’s predicament or Tarrlok’s presence, he couldn’t tell.

“Oh, yes, sir; one of my great-uncles was betrothed to the Exalted Yue Herself,” Yutu said. He had a voice better suited for funerals than politics.

“That’s-- that’s very impressive.” Tenzin tried to remember the stories his uncle Sokka had told him about Yue and Her travails. He came up short.

“Thank you, sir,” said Yutu, “I’m glad you think so. Perhaps then you would consider lending me your support in the upcoming election. I promise I shall make an honest Councilman and a stalwart ally--”

“I’ll consider it,” Tenzin cut him off with an awkward smile, finally tugging his hand free of the man's political grip. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have much to see to.”

“Of course, sir,” said Yutu, the grave look on his face only dug deeper. Tenzin hurried off to join his wife, not sure which Watertribesman had him more frazzled.

“I see you met Yutu,” Tarrlok said cheerfully. “Isn’t he a delight?”

“Ah, he’s-- he’s certainly intent,” Tenzin said. “Are you alright, Pema?”

Pema smiled, the gesture tense. “Just tired. The little one is kicking,” she said, placing a hand on her swollen belly.

“You shouldn’t be standing,” Tenzin said, trying to ignore Tarrlok’s smiling presence at his elbow.

“You have such a thoughtful husband,” Tarrlok said, and Tenzin hoped that Pema couldn’t hear the edge in his voice. “You must count yourself so lucky.”

“I do,” Pema assured him, putting her free hand on Tenzin’s arm. “And it’s fine, dear; it would be rude to greet our guests while sitting.”

“I’m more concerned with your health than their feelings,” Tenzin said and somehow managed to sound casual about the whole thing. “I’ll greet them. Ikki, sweetheart, can you walk your mother to a chair?”

Ikki had been staring wide-eyed at Tarrlok, her little eyebrows creasing, but at that she beamed at Tenzin and nodded. Reaching a pudgy toddler hand to grab Pema’s, the two of them retreated to the chairs, and Tenzin rounded on Tarrlok.

“Are you amused?” he demanded.

Tarrlok smirked at him, knife-sharp. “I can see why you fuck around. She’s like a frightened hamster mouse.”

“She is my wife,” Tenzin reminded him tersely.

“I’ll be nice,” Tarrlok promised, but the smirk didn’t fade. “So what do you think of Yutu?”

Tenzin closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and exhaled the tension, shoulders relaxing.

“I think he missed his calling as a mortician,” he said finally.

Tarrlok snorted, looking out over the crowd to where Yutu was now trying to corner notoriously apolitical millionaire Hiroshi Sato. “He missed his calling as a morose garden figure somewhere. Moon, he’s a pill.”

“He’s actively soliciting support,” Tenzin said.

“He’d need charisma to do that,” said Tarrlok, more than a little acidically. “Besides, the only support that really matters is from the Chief up North, and he’s not getting that by pestering the rich and famous of Republic City.”

Tenzin blinked and raised his brows at Tarrlok, confused.

“Unalaq hates the United Republic,” Tarrlok said, waving a hand vaguely northwards as if dismissing the whole thing. “Some bullshit about 'spiritual imbalances' or something, I wasn’t listening at the time. As long as I’m suitably pious and dismissive of city-life, I’m a shoe-in.”

Tenzin had realised in rather short order that his original assessment of Tarrlok as pious had been misguided, that the religious imagery was a front the waterbender neatly put up, but it was still a shock to hear him speak about it so brazenly.

He cleared his throat. “And Yutu isn’t pious?”

“Yutu does the yearly ritual and occasionally waterbends a nice circle and calls it a Moon Mirror,” Tarrlok said. “Not that difficult to top.”

“Sometimes I’m a little concerned at how easily lying comes to you,” Tenzin said before he could think better of it.

Tarrlok looked startled, almost hurt, before his face smoothed into a blank mask. Tenzin could have kicked himself.

“All the better for you,” Tarrlok said blandly. “Imagine poor Pema's reaction if I was a bad liar. Excuse me.”

And he disappeared into the crowd before Tenzin could stop him.

With a deep sigh, Tenzin resolved to apologise later and tried to push it from his mind. People were finding the food, settling into the seating arrangements. Time to be something of a host, he supposed, and moved to join Pema and their children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad Yutu's only in this chapter; he's such a pill that he comes around to being funny again.
> 
> Also, Unalaq is gonna get a lot of mentions for being Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Fanfic, so please don't take that as foreshadowing! His only role here is as the guy paying most of Tarrlok's salary!
> 
> ALSO ALSO, DoubtingRabbit drew (NSFW) fanart for chapter five! Go look at it! It's at the bottom of that chapter!


	8. The Marriage Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin apologises to Tarrlok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is the beta we need _and_ deserve.

Tenzin hadn’t expected the party to become, well, a party, but with the food and the alcohol that he had reluctantly allowed on the island - a first in decades - the whole affair became noisy and filled with inebriated laughter. His airbending demonstration had been greeted with hearty applause, especially from Azun and his entourage, and now that it was done, everyone was talking too-loudly at each other.

Tenzin dodged another attempt at a conversation from Yutu and took stock; the guests were fed and entertained, Ikki and Jinora had been put to bed already, herded away by the elderly acolyte they referred to as Auntie Sita, and Pema was deep in conversation with another pair of acolytes who Tenzin recognised as two of the musicians.

Now was as good a time as any to apologise to Tarrlok. If he could find him.

Scanning across the crowd Tenzin spotted an abundance of braided chestnut hair, but none of it belonging to Tarrlok. He frowned and made his way through the mass of people, hoping the change in angle would help, but it was of no use. The waterbender seemed to have disappeared all together.

Tenzin frowned, looking around the edges of the party and spotted something amiss; the door to the personal wings of the Temple were slightly ajar, and he knew Sita too well to think that she had failed to close them when taking the girls to bed. Tarrlok, however, was as curious as a cat, and something between hope and frustration kindled in Tenzin’s chest.

He moved through the crowds, most of the members thoroughly drunk--and was that Sato at a table by himself, looking haunted and angry?-- slipping through the door and shutting it properly behind him.

The sudden drop in sound was as sweet as cool air on a summer’s day and Tenzin breathed in the peace of the Temple for a moment, letting it soothe his nerves, before scanning the halls of his home. The women’s wing to his left, darkened, the soft tones of the lullaby his father had once sung to him, and that he had faithfully passed on, drifting out. The men’s wing to his right, entirely silent and with the evening lanterns dimmed. And directly in front of him, facing the entrance, was another door that was supposed to be closed, leading into the rooms of congress, as they were euphemistically called.

Pushing open the door and slipping through it, Tenzin looked up and down the hallway and there, at the end, Tarrlok was a shadowed figure, surveying one of the rooms, a half-empty flute of champagne in his hand.

Tenzin closed this door behind him as well, and the click called his lover’s attention. Tarrlok half-smiled and saluted him with his mostly empty glass.

“What are you doing here?” Tenzin asked, barely above a whisper.

“I got curious,” Tarrlok said, and there was a thick quality to his voice.

Tenzin stopped up short. “Are you drunk?”

“Tipsy,” Tarrlok corrected him. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t know how else to get through the party. What is this place?”

“You-- this, uh-- these are the rooms of congress,” Tenzin said, not entirely sure whether he should feel insulted or if it was merely fair payback for earlier.

“What, like meeting rooms?”

“No! No, you know…” Tenzin gestured awkwardly. “ _ Congress _ .”

Tarrlok stared at him for a long moment. “You have separate rooms for  _ fucking _ ?”

Tenzin sighed and rubbed his head. “It’s-- the Temple is split up between the men’s section and the women’s section. This is where we meet when the decision to conceive a child is made.”

“Wait, so,” Tarrlok said, his brows knitting together as he considered the concept, “you sleep in your own damn bed-- you have a separate bedroom entirely? You only sleep with your wife when you’re trying to knock her up?!”

“No! Not always,” Tenzin said, barely remembering to keep his voice down. “Sometimes we just use these rooms to sleep in, to spend time together. But, yes, their original purpose is for-- for the act of conception.”

Another moment of confused staring, and then Tarrlok gave the room he’d been examining another look. “Huh,” he said, then drained his glass. “What room do you fuck Pema in?”

Five years in, Tenzin knew Tarrlok well enough to know where this was going.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because there is a party going on outside!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Tarrlok. “We’ll be quick, and then I can just leave and pretend nothing happened. After all, lying comes so easy to me.”

Tenzin winced, looking away. “Yes, about that; I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

“I’ll consider your dick an apology,” Tarrlok interrupted him. “Now what room do you fuck Pema in?”

With a deep sigh, Tenzin gestured down the hallway. “Second from the end.”

Tarrlok grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards it.

“An actual genuine Air Nomad room of congress,” he was saying, and that edge to his voice was back; angry or mocking, Tenzin couldn't quite tell. “Imagine that I should be so lucky.”

“Tarrlok,” Tenzin started, frowning.

They stopped in front of the room, Tarrlok turning on him like a rat viper, his smile equally venomous. “I can’t give you an airbender baby,” he said, his voice a purr, “but you can come in me anyway.”

The budding anger and frustration were pushed from Tenzin’s body at those words, and he felt almost breathless. Just with that promise, lust was kindling and churning in his stomach, and it was all he could think of. Burying himself deep in Tarrlok, filling him, drowning him.

Tarrlok knew, the smile widening, his eyes indigo in the gloom. Tenzin pressed close, kissed him harder than he’d meant to, but Tarrlok met him bite for bite, nimble fingers picking at his robes. Reaching out blindly behind him, Tenzin slid shut the door of the room. It would offer no real privacy, sound traveling through with little interference, but a sense of propriety compelled him.

Then Tarrlok’s fingers wrapped around his sex, and propriety became meaningless.

“But-- we don’t have any oil or--” Tenzin stammered, his hips giving a premature jolt towards that warm touch.

“Oh, please,” Tarrlok said, his voice thick with more than just alcohol. “What do you take me for? I brought some with me.”

Of course he did. Tenzin kissed him again, and then the carved corner of his jaw as Tarrlok turned his head to rummage through a pocket. The buttons on that silken waistcoat slid open easily.

“Tch,” Tarrlok said, releasing Tenzin’s dick to bat away his hands. “It has to be quick. Don’t mess up my outfit too much.”

“But-- what--”

“My pants, Tenzin,” Tarrlok said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and perhaps it was, but it was hard to concentrate when a suddenly oil-slicked hand wrapped around him again, tugging him hard impatiently.

Tenzin gritted his teeth and obeyed, popping open the buttons on his trousers instead, slipping his hands in to grope over dusky skin with a low, yearning noise. Tarrlok kissed him again, this time light and lingering, a sharp contrast to his hand.

Tenzin breathed his name into the kiss, rolling forward into Tarrlok's hold and then, suddenly, it was gone. Tenzin blinked, stared at the waterbender dazedly, and only realised what was happening when Tarrlok winced, frowning in concentration, his hand back and working behind him.

"I can-- I can do that for you," Tenzin said.

"No," said Tarrlok. "You'd take it too slow."

There was something off in his expression, even in the dark, something angry and desperate. Tenzin reached to cup his jaw. "Tarrlok. Did something happen?"

Tarrlok blinked and stepped away from him and, from the look on his face, Tenzin thought he had changed his mind. Instead Tarrlok clambered onto the bed, his knees sinking into the thick mattress, and shrugged off his woolen coat, revealing the tense line of his back, his fitted pants down around his thighs and his bared ass. "C'mon then," he said, falling forward onto all fours.

"Are you sure everything's--"

"Fuck me, or don't," Tarrlok snapped, looking over his shoulder. "Either way, stop dawdling."

Tenzin hesitated for another moment before the pull of his lust became too much, before he remembered the promise Tarrlok had made him, and moved onto the bed as well, kneeling behind him. Later, when the haze of desire had faded from his mind, when Tarrlok was sated, then Tenzin could ask again. But for now-- he set his cock against Tarrlok's asshole and rolled his hips forward, the ring giving around him tearing a choked moan from his throat.

Tarrlok's shoulders bunched, his breathing coming in ragged bursts, but he took Tenzin without a flinch.

Hands settling on those slim waterbender hips, Tenzin pushed deeper, warm pressure molding around him. The muffled noise and laughter outside seemed to fade away entirely.

Tarrlok shifted, rolled his shoulders, and rocked  _ back _ \--

Tenzin choked on air for a moment, his fingers digging into Tarrlok's skin.

"Careful," Tenzin warned when he could finally speak.

"I can take it," said Tarrlok, low and fierce, canting his hips up into another thrust. He made a noise, not quite a moan, but close enough to make Tenzin's breath catch again.

The airbender resettled his hold and rocked into an answering rhythm, meeting each of Tarrlok's thrusts with one of his own, burying himself deeper with each pass. And in a concerningly short amount of time, he was hilt-deep with Tarrlok's silk-clad back arching beneath him. Tenzin hesitated, his heart pounding, watching for any distress, any pain.

Instead Tarrlok whispered, "Keep going, keep going, don't stop," a frantic current to his voice. Tenzin liked that better than the edge of anger from before.

He settled into an easy rhythm, his motions growing more fluid as Tarrlok relaxed around his cock. The bed creaked lazily beneath them, and for a moment it was perfect; the sound of Tarrlok's breathing, gasping and needy, the smell of their arousal, the feel of the waterbender clenching around him.

Tarrlok shifted, reaching one shaky hand between his legs.

"Good?" Tenzin dared, wishing he could see more than the back of Tarrlok's bowed head, his hunched shoulders.

"Mm, harder," Tarrlok said, his voice rough.

Tenzin's hips stuttered to a halt, the concern returning to his voice as he started to say, "I could hurt--"

"Fuck. Me. Harder," Tarrlok said between gritted teeth.

Tenzin obeyed, one hand sliding to curl around Tarrlok's shoulder, holding him in place. The first hard thrust tore a noise from Tarrlok almost too primal to be a moan; the second got a sobbed, "Yes...!"

The sounds of their rutting filled the usual hush of the room; skin slapping against skin and Tenzin’s harsh breathing joining Tarrlok’s. The music of their bodies, along with Tarrlok’s soft, muffled moans, were the sweetest things Tenzin had ever heard, he was certain. On a whim, Tenzin curled his hand around those three elaborate braids, pulling them, pulling Tarrlok back against him.

The noise Tarrlok made this time was almost a growl, a raw croak in the back of his throat, his whole body rolling and arching against Tenzin, clamping around his prick.

“Fffuck, yes,” he rasped.

Tenzin could just make out his closed eyes, his slack jaw. “Tarrlok,” he choked out in warning, the waterbender clenching around him.

“Stop thinking,” Tarrlok spat, and his eyes opened a slit, glaring sidelong at Tenzin. “You-- you always think too much. Just  _ let go _ .”

_ I really could hurt him _ , thought the rational part of Tenzin's mind, but the rest of him didn't care and did exactly what was asked.

Each thrust grew harder, driving Tarrlok off his knees and onto his front, pounding him into the bed. Tenzin's world narrowed to just this; the tight heat pulsing around his cock and the sight of Tarrlok's face half-pressed into the pillow, tight with pleasure.

"Yes," breathed Tarrlok, his arm jerking, trapped between his body and the mattress. "Yes, keep going...!"

"Beautiful-- tight--" Tenzin babbled. He leaned down, licked a trembling line over Tarrlok's jaw, tasting the sweat. "So perfect--"

Tarrlok gave another raw croak, his eyes rolling back. "Right there, right there, fuck, yes, Tenzin, fuck me right there," fell from his lips in a whispered, inelegant stream. All the grace and practiced manners melting away to leave behind need and lust.

Tenzin knew what he wanted, biting at his ear before whispering, "You're so much tighter than Pema."

Tarrlok sobbed, eyes clenching shut and his hips canting up into Tenzin's frenzied rutting. "Oh,  _ moon _ ...!"

"So much better to fuck," Tenzin went on, voice low and heated.

Had he been anywhere else, had he not been balls-deep in Tarrlok's ass, with Tarrlok's whimpers in his ears, he would have been sick with guilt at what he said. But now? Here? All that mattered was the writhing waterbender beneath him.

"Please," Tarrlok hiccupped.

"My Tarrlok, my perfect, fuckable Tarrlok," Tenzin said, his own words growing frantic.

The waterbender buried his face in the pillow, muffling the rough noise he made, but the tremble down his back couldn't be hidden by constraint or even his silk jacket. Tarrlok clumsily pulled free his hand, now soiled with come, but he kept whispering, "Don't stop, please, Tenzin--"

Tenzin's breath came hard and fast, and he licked the sheen from the back of Tarrlok's neck, the bed creaking beneath them at the force of his thrusts.

"Come in me, Tenzin, just fucking, mmn," Tarrlok moaned, the frantic edge replaced by a sated, husky richness.

Tenzin could hear himself whimper in response, could feel something warm and wonderful uncoil at the base of his spine.

"Are you gonna come in me?" Tarrlok's eyes were slits of midnight blue, looking back at Tenzin. "Are you?"

The only answer Tenzin was capable of was a trembling moan, only barely muffled against one of Tarrlok's braids, as he buried himself deep and hard enough to thump the bed frame against the wall. Another loud thump accompanied by a protesting creak, and he flooded Tarrlok's ass with warm come. Another, and his hips shivered and his cock twitched as he emptied out. For a moment, they lay there silently, and Tenzin reveled in the feel of Tarrlok beneath him, of the way their heavy breathing seemed in sync.

Then, he remembered what was left of his manners and pulled out, shuffling off the waterbender. In the gloom he caught a glimpse of Tarrlok's hole, glistening and still gaping.

"Are you alright?" he asked, still breathless.

Tarrlok laughed, a faint little sound, and smiled, eyes closed. "Oh, yeah. Fantastic." He pushed back onto his knees, tugging his pants back up.

Tenzin leaned in and kissed his flushed cheek on an impulse, and that got him another laugh. Tarrlok turned his head and made the kiss a proper one.

“Alright,” said Tarrlok, and his eyes glittered with distant lights. “Apology accepted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad porn is rad porn, I always say! It's not a bloodbending brother if there's not a barely concealed undercurrent of angst!


	9. The Election

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin gets a new colleague.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Noatak - sans mask, but presumably with some disguising make-up - makes a cameo in this chapter; see if you can spot him!
> 
> As always, DoubtingRabbit is an officer and a gentleman and the finest beta I could ask for.

_ Triple Threat and Equalists Clash! _ blared the headline of the  _ Republic Times _ in large, fat letters. The grainy photograph underneath showed a street wrecked with clumps of earth and scorch marks, and an inset of Lightningbolt Zolt from the latest failed trial, grinning unrepentantly at the camera.

Tenzin skimmed the first few paragraphs and sighed, letting the paper flop back onto the table. He had hoped that the group rallying around the shadowy masked vigilante would have become true political activism, but they seemed to be just another gang, albeit one that claimed noble intentions. He had tried in the beginning; he'd made subtle inquiries among his acquaintances, hoping to start a useful dialogue, but the most he had ever gotten in return was a curt, “They’re not interested in meeting.”

And now - now the election to the Council was looming, and both Zolt and Amon were playing right into Tarrlok’s skilful hands. His entire campaign had run on being tough on crime, cleaning up the city, and backed up with that bright, perfect smile and all the considerable charisma Tarrlok could pour into it.

Tenzin disagreed with most of it, but he understood being drawn in too well.

He pushed both the unrest and his lover (and his lover’s campaign of dubious morality) from his mind, glancing at the pile of memos before saving them for later. There were more important events ahead.

After the election - not that there was much of an election in Tenzin’s case; he was the only one qualified to represent the Air Nomads - he was to pack up his family aboard Oogi and head South. He had promised they would be there for Korra’s thirteenth birthday.

Tenzin picked up the letter, gently tucking away the topmost page, covered in Korra’s hurried scribble, under Master Pottu’s more sedate one, listing preparations and dates that would be suitable.

It wasn’t meant to be a grand celebration; that birthday wasn’t until Korra’s sixteenth, when all the nations would send symbolic gifts and officially acknowledge her as the world’s Avatar. But Korra was apparently convinced that turning thirteen was an important event, enough to nearly make her an adult, and the White Lotus had seen no harm in indulging her.

Tenzin understood them well enough. The poor girl had been cooped up in that compound since she was three, bursting with energy and curiosity, and her only knowledge of the world outside coming from her teachers and guests. A party was the least they could do.

Lunch passed, and Tenzin ate it alone; Tarrlok was busy, waiting for the votes to come in, and he’d barely been able to sit still this last week. It made him less than engaging company.

Pema called, and they had a brief conversation which amounted to little more than an exchanging of greetings, a few questions about the management of the Temple, and then a hurried farewell as Meelo started howling in the background.

The afternoon grew into evening, the light lending a golden haze to his office, and Tenzin readied both his glider and himself to head home. The evening edition of the papers would be out soon, and with them the preliminary results. He’d grab a paper, skim the headline and then take off for Air Temple Island; congratulations or comfort would wait until the morning.

“Good evening, sir,” called an aide as he made his way down. Tenzin smiled and nodded, trying to force his mind into thinking of what to pack for the South Pole and what gift to bring for Korra.

But instead, he found himself speeding up as he turned towards the nearest newspaper stand where an idling Sato-mobile was being hastily unloaded to an audience of demanding buyers.

Tenzin elbowed his way in, airbending poise be damned, and grabbed a paper. And there, at the top, was a photo of Tarrlok smiling his even, perfect public smile, the headline  _ Youngest Ever Councilmember Elected! _ smeared thickly underneath.

Morning brought clearer results. Kirima and Amak had both retired and had been replaced with little fanfare, but Azun had been ousted by his opponent, a matronly firebender named Zirsa who promised to focus on childhood education and public parks. Guan Ting had won his reelection neatly, which made sense as Tenzin could barely remember the bland man from Omashu who had challenged his position.

And Tenzin had, of course, retained his seat as a representative of the Air Nomads.

He dropped both the paper and his glider off at his office before making his way to Amak’s, soon to be Tarrlok’s.

Immediately at the door of the Northern Water Tribe's offices, Tenzin was greeted with a flurry of activity, furs and woven mats being taken down and piled onto carts, the knick-knacks crowding Amak’s desk being packed into boxes, and in the middle of the tornado, a beaming Tarrlok and a flustered Amak.

“Tenzin!” Amak called, relieved to see some rock of stability in the storm.

“Very efficient,” Tenzin said, gesturing around the office being gutted at a breakneck speed.

“No reason to linger,” said Amak, his eyes wide and his hair in disarray. He could clearly have done with some lingering, or at least a little dawdling.

“I suppose not,” Tenzin said kindly, then turned to the more interesting prospect. “Tarrlok, congratulations.”

“Thank you!” said Tarrlok as if he was still holding his acceptance speech, but he took Tenzin’s proffered hand with both his own, a warm intimacy that belied the facade. “Wonderful results! Yutu didn’t even wait for the votes to be fully counted before sending me the telegram.”

“That was very gracious of him,” Tenzin said, only belatedly realising he was still holding Tarrlok’s hands and rubbing affectionate circles over one with his thumb. He let go. The flicker of a smile that Tarrlok gave him made it clear it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Oh, I’m sure. It was stridently polite.”

Tenzin cleared his throat and stepped back, and then further back as two burly movers strode past them with a large, ornate carving of Yue and La, one of them nodding his hairless head and rasping, “Many thanks, sirs.”

“So,” said Tenzin, “you’re in quite the rush to boot out poor Amak.”

“Oh, no, Amak is just keen to head back to the North, isn't that right?” Tarrlok beamed at his former boss, now constituent.

Amak nodded, looking deeply relieved at the very notion. “I am,” he said. “The sooner, the better. I’ve received a personal invitation from Chief Unalaq himself!”

“Do give him my greetings,” Tarrlok said. Then, leaning around Tenzin, he called, “The bookcases by the far wall, please!”

“I will, I will,” said Amak, seeming more at ease the less full the office was of his possessions. “And speaking of greetings, you’re off to see the Avatar soon, are you not, Tenzin?”

“Yes, I am,” Tenzin said. “Leaving tomorrow, in fact.”

“You must pass on the well-wishes of the North Pole!” Amak said eagerly, about to step closer when an aide - her thin knees buckling under the weight of a large potted plant - darted between them. “Ah,” Amak said, growing flustered again, “she’s always in our thoughts, and she mustn’t think that the whole, well,  _ messy business _ c-c-concerning her father reflects on her in any way.”

“I’m sure that’s not a concern,” Tenzin said, decidedly uncomfortable with the awkward direction this conversation was taking, “but I’ll pass it onto her. Tonraq as well, if--”

“No, no!” said Amak, his voice suddenly sharp. “That is… that’s absolutely not necessary.”

“Well, you can pass my greetings on to the Avatar’s father,” Tarrlok said, clearly just to make Amak even more tense. “He may have moved down to our less advanced sister tribe, but I still consider him a constituent.”

Amak made a scandalised noise which faded away into a mutter when Tenzin didn’t seem to agree.

“Pardon,” said an aide, a handsome fellow with sky-blue eyes, moving past them with a crate of boxes and accidentally bumping into Tenzin.

Tenzin brushed it off, stepping to the side of this new stream of movers. “I’ll let him know, Tarrlok. I’m sure it’s appreciated.”

Seeing that he would find no allies in his pious disapproval of Tonraq, Amak fussed briefly over a bit of lint on his coat and said, “Well, then, I need to go see to it that my things are packed away properly. I hope to at least see you at the farewell reception, Tenzin.”

“Oh, you will, if only briefly,” Tenzin replied. “Need to get an early start tomorrow.”

“Of c-course,” Amak said, almost bowing before thinking better of it. “Good day to you both!” And he was off like a brooding otter-penguin in search of a cub.

Tenzin and Tarrlok both watched him go, before Tenzin dared to take a step closer. No aide appeared to knock him aside. “So, uh,” said Tenzin, “what was the whole situation with Tonraq again?”

Tarrlok eloquently rolled his eyes. “Some spirit bullshit,” he said. “If you ask me, it was just an excuse for Unalaq to oust him, and now we’re all expected to pretend that the Avatar’s father is somehow a pariah, as if that’s not the dumbest political move you could possibly make.”

“Sorry, sirs!” a pimply-faced youth called out as he and two others danced around them to lift Amak’s now-empty desk.

Tenzin waited for them to pass before saying, “Unalaq is your chief. If he has a problem with--”

“Then I’ll tell him what I just told you,” Tarrlok cut him off. “That alienating the Avatar’s father is politically ill-advised.” He smirked at Tenzin. “Don’t worry; I just won my position, I’m not going to lose it because the Chief up North gets himself in a tizzy.”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt that you’re capable of staying right where you are,” sighed Tenzin.

The smirk became a grin and Tarrlok tossed his head towards one of the large windows, leading the way over. Amak’s office-- well, Tarrlok’s office afforded a beautiful view of downtown Republic City, and even more so now that the heavy drapes were being torn down.

“Really,” said Tenzin, “congratulations. You’ve earned this.”

“I know,” said Tarrlok, not a trace of humility in his voice. Not that Tenzin had expected there to be. “A year of work finally paying off. Moon, I wish I could have seen Yutu’s face.”

Tenzin laughed. “Politics are about compromising, not competition,” he said, well aware that the argument was a lost cause. It was worth it for the exasperated look Tarrlok gave him.

“Well, whatever,” said Tarrlok, running his hands over the window sill. A faint smile drifted over his face. “Too bad we can’t celebrate properly yet.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Tenzin promised him. He cast a quick glance around, but nobody was watching them. “A couple of weeks at the most.”

“That suits me fine,” Tarrlok said. “Gives me some peace and quiet to move to my new apartment.” He wasn’t looking at Tenzin, however, and there was something wistful in his voice.

“I look forward to seeing it,” said Tenzin. He wanted desperately to lean in and kiss Tarrlok, but between the window before them, and the aides running around behind them… “I’ll see you at the reception, at least?”

Tarrlok glanced at him sidelong, eyes sly. “Is Pema coming?” he asked.

Tenzin almost wanted to laugh at how transparent that was, and how much he wanted to indulge it. “My whole family will be there,” he said. “Pema and the kids.”

Something passed over Tarrlok’s face, almost too fast to catch, but Tenzin could have sworn it was sadness. In a blink, however, Tarrlok looked indifferent and shrugged. “Well, that’s no fun, then. I’ll probably be too busy.”

“What problem do you have with my children?” Tenzin asked before he could stop himself.

Tarrlok blinked. “What?” For once caught off guard, he laughed a little, glancing back over his shoulder. “I don’t. Your kids are lovely. I like them.”

“I--I know you do,” Tenzin stammered, realising how accusatory it had sounded. “I didn’t mean-- you always get so sad, is what I meant. Why?”

The nervous smile faded from Tarrlok’s face, as did everything else, leaving behind a flat, blank mask. Tarrlok could have been made of porcelain for all the emotion he showed.

“I don’t see what business you have asking me that,” he said in a voice that was both mild and flat.

Tenzin frowned and almost reached to touch him before remembering where they were. “You’re unhappy, Tarrlok. I want to know why.”

“Councilman Tenzin, I’m sure you understand that I’m very busy,” Tarrlok said, his voice clipped and polite, rising above the din of the movers. “So I hope you’ll forgive me for saying that this conversation is over. I wish you a pleasant trip.”

“Tarrlok,” Tenzin said, low and concerned.

“Good day, sir,” Tarrlok said and turned back to his office.

Tenzin frowned but didn’t grab at him like he wanted to. Already several of the aides were giving them small glances, the blue-eyed man with the books even looking distinctly amused. Tenzin cleared his throat and, too-loudly, said, “Congratulations again, Councilman Tarrlok. I look forward to working with you.”

“And likewise, Councilman Tenzin!” said Tarrlok, his voice full of the fake cheer that Tenzin had thought reserved for everyone but him.

Tenzin offered him a pained smile (and received a flawless false one in return) before leaving Tarrlok’s office with as much dignity as his confused hurt allowed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So y'all ready to meet li'l baby Korra next week?
> 
> ALSO, my beautiful beta and I co-wrote a smutty fic set in the same universe as this, and you can find it [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753053)


	10. The South Pole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin visits the Avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET KORRA SAY 'FUCK' 2020
> 
> (DoubtingRabbit is the finest beta and the wind beneath my wings.)

“An’ Master Pottu said that I was a disgrace to the lineage of the Avatar, which I think is a bit of an overreaction, especially given that it was mostly Naga’s fault, an’ anyway, Master Pottu is kind of a fuckin’ square--”

“Language, Korra,” Tenzin said mildly and the young Avatar, all gangly limbs and excitement, looked momentarily contrite.

“Sorry. Anyway, Naga was just hungry, an’ if they didn’t insist on always feedin’ her after everybody else, she wouldn’t even’ve come into the dinin’ hall. So anyway, I said that if he was havin’ so much of a problem with my Avatarly dignity and how my spirit animal handles things, then maybe  _ he _ could eat in the kennels and  _ Naga _ could eat with me in the dinin’ hall, cuz she’s bound to be a shitload of better company than his crusty ass.”

She paused to take a deep breath and Tenzin took the opportunity. “Master Pottu is just trying to instill some basic manners in you,” he said, letting the latest bout of swearing pass without comment. Korra was stir-crazy, and Tenzin rather thought it was Pottu’s own fault for being so inflexible.

“I got manners!” Korra protested. “I got lots of manners! I've got manners comin' out of my ears!”

Tenzin doubted that but he wasn’t going to tell her so. They were walking along the perimeter of the compound and he could feel the eyes of the White Lotus guards on them every step of the way. He supposed it was a minor miracle that Korra’s only rebellion was her complete refusal to fit into the mold of polite society.

“How’s your earthbending coming?” he asked, voice deliberately light.

It worked. Korra brightened and started bouncing her steps. “Oh, great! I tore down a section of the wall a week ago, which like, I wasn’t supposed to? But it was so cool!”

Well, maybe her rebellion was a little more physical. Tenzin bit back a smile and nodded solemnly. “It does sound cool,” he said.

“It was! I figure I got maybe a month t’go before I got this shit in the bag, and maybe then I could start learning airbending?” The usual bravado in Korra’s voice narrowed to a hopeful wheedle.

“Korra,” Tenzin sighed, “you know you have to pass your firebending lessons first.”

“But I can already do that stuff!” Korra whined, stopping up short. She tantrumed with all the wounded grievance of her nearly-thirteen years. “The only thing I can’t fuckin’ do is airbendin’, and I’m sick of waitin’, and you’re the  _ only _ one of them who even listens to me!”

And that, of course, was the real reason. The reason Tenzin took the trip down to the South Pole regularly, despite the cold and discomfort, despite concern for his lover back home, despite his work on the Council. Korra, receptory of the divine and inheritor to a lineage older than bending, was surrounded by teachers and guards and caretakers, and not a single person she felt she could talk to.

Tenzin thought of Jinora, six years old and already so very serious, imagined her alone without even Ikki as her trusty companion, and his heart clenched. The pity he felt for Korra was almost equivalent to the guilt he felt for putting her in that position.

“My mother’s always there to talk,” he tried, knowing that answer fell woefully short of what Korra needed.

“Master Katara’s always busy,” Korra said, her voice growing harsh with frustration. “Like, she’s really nice, but she’s gone for weeks and then all I have is fuckin’ Master Pottu or Master Chei, and they’re like talkin’ to fuckin’--” she flailed for a moment. “--teachers! They’re like talkin’ to teachers!” She slumped further, her voice deepening in mockery of her two most hated masters. "Korra, read your homework. Korra, mind your language. Korra, stop having fun." A frustrated puff of air. "Teachers!"

“Well, that’s what they are,” said Tenzin. “I know you’re frustrated, Korra. If it were up to me you could learn anything you wanted. But there are rules for this sort of thing.”

Korra slumped and started walking again; or trudging rather, the snow squeaking loudly under her boots.

Tenzin walked beside her silently for a while before saying, “Firebending should suit you perfectly, though.”

She didn’t answer, but he caught a glint of blue as she glanced up at him.

“It’s fast-paced,” Tenzin continued, “exciting. You’ll be jumping around, learning all sorts of fun techniques. The Two-headed Dragon; the Sunrise Sweep. Maybe even lightningbending.”

Clearly against her will, a small, hopeful smile spread on Korra’s face.

“I saw Firelord Izumi lightningbend once,” Tenzin said, continuing as if he hadn’t seen that smile. “She was still a princess then, showing off for my father.”

“Could Aang lightningbend?!” Korra asked, sulk forgotten and spunk returning.

Tenzin chuckled. “No. But he could redirect it. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the one to add it to the Avatar line.”

Korra’s mood was restored, a wide grin on her face, and Tenzin halfheartedly pitied whatever poor soul they brought in to teach her firebending. They’d have no peace until their young Avatar could fling around plasma at will, if Korra had anything to say about it.

The birthday party itself was the exact sort of affair one would expect, arranged by a group of dour adults in the service of a sheltered child who was denied access to any other children but those her teachers brought. Korra, however, was overjoyed by it, sitting in pride of place with her earthbending teacher’s pimply son and Jinora as her chosen table mates.

Tenzin and Pottu sat some way off, watching the three happily chattering away.

“Have you considered finding her some companions?” Tenzin said, more casual that he actually felt.

“She has companions,” Pottu said, gesturing at the gangly boy on Korra’s right.

“I meant something more permanent,” said Tenzin. “Friends. She’s lonely.”

Pottu made a tired noise, settling back in his chair. “She doesn’t have time for gallivanting; she has lessons she needs to master.”

“She’s  _ twelve _ ,” Tenzin said. Then corrected himself, “Thirteen, now, but she’s a child, Pottu. An isolated, lonely child.”

“She’s obstinate,” Pottu shot back. “Do you know we haven’t had a single spiritual break-through with her yet? Not one! And not for lack of trying.”

“Avatar Roku didn’t reach the Spirit World until he was well into his twenties,” Tenzin said, more tightly than he’d intended.

“Avatar Roku didn’t begin training until he was sixteen,” said Pottu, equally tightly. “We’re treading new ground here, Tenzin. No Avatar has ever been trained from toddlerhood before, and pardon me, but wasn’t it you and her father who suggested this arrangement in the first place?”

Tenzin wanted to slump childishly, but he was acutely aware of both his position and of Korra’s constant greedy surveillance of the goings on. "There are cities not far from here," he tried, knowing it would be little use. "With a detail of guards, she could maybe visit--"

"Absolutely not," said Pottu. "She stays within the protection of the compound; I will not have a repeat of-- well, of  _ the event _ ."

"The Red Lotus is locked away," Tenzin said, leaning on the table towards him. "Surely we can allow her a little freedom?"

"What is this sudden concern for her social life? Guilt?" Pottu demanded, half rhetorical, all irritated.

Tenzin breathed deeply through his nose, out through his mouth, chanting in his head until he, very calmly, could say, “She wants to start airbending training.”

“Out of the question,” Pottu said immediately.

“I know it’s out of the question,” said Tenzin. “She wants to start because she feels I’m the only one who listens to her. She is  _ lonely _ , Pottu, and she is  _ bored. _ ”

“If she paid better attention to her lessons, she wouldn’t be,” Pottu said.

Tenzin breathed deeply, calming himself before he turned sunset red and started rattling the old waterbender by his collar.

“Maybe just consider it,” he said finally.

“Maybe I will,” said Pottu, clearly not meaning it.

They ate in a tense silence for a while, letting the noise of the guards singing an impromptu song for the birthday girl wash over them. Tenzin could imagine Tarrlok’s snide comment on the quality of the singing, and the thought brought both a fond warmth and a nervous knot to the pit of his stomach.

He had tried to call the newly minted Councilman on the morning before they left, but Tarrlok had apparently been busy directing his move. But after six years, surely he was allowed to ask personal questions. He frowned at his sea prunes, stabbing one with his chopsticks. It hadn’t even been that personal. More concern than curiosity, wanting to quell that haunted light in Tarrlok’s eyes.

“Will the rest of your family be joining us?” Pottu said in an attempt to be polite, rudely ripping Tenzin out of his reverie.

“Wha-- oh. No,” Tenzin stammered. “Meelo is, uh, going through a phase where he can’t stand to be away from Pema or me, and he keeps us up nights because of it. Pema is taking the evening off and just napping with him.” He glanced over at where Katara sat. “Ikki was supposed to join them, but she insisted on staying with my mother instead.”

“And they’re all benders?” Pottu continued, already straining for a subject.

“Jinora and Ikki are,” Tenzin said. “Meelo hasn’t-- well, he’s only a year.” Then, unable to help himself, he recited, “Children take the time they take.”

Pottu gave him a narrow look, but refrained from commenting. Or speaking at all until the meal was finished.

The rest of the party, such as it was, passed with the two of them managing to stay distantly polite, and Korra seemed massively pleased with the detailed little reproduction of a Satomobile.

All in all, the next day when Oogi was packed up and ready to leave, Tenzin found himself saddened to say goodbye to his young one-day charge, even as he was anxious to return to Republic City and a, hopefully, more reasonable Tarrlok.

Korra clung to him for a moment before moving on to scoop Jinora up into a massive hug, her tiny legs kicking as she giggled. And Tenzin thought of the Avatar as they left; alone among a sea of adults and a handful of adolescents, no diversions but endless practice. It seemed crueler the more he thought about it, putting so much expectation on the shoulders of a child, but he stopped himself short.

It was for the best. It was all for Korra’s protection.

What was a little isolation compared to that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate this dumb retcon that, actually, the compound was Tenzin and Tonraq's idea, but I'm also trying to keep the fic mostly canon-compliant, so I have to include it, and I'm angry about it. >:C
> 
> Also, there is a small chance - small, but present - that next chapter will be delayed. It's causing me some amount of trouble, and I'm in the middle of taking my driver's license (yes, i am pretty old to be taking my driver's license, _thank you_ ), so while I'll certainly try to wrangle the chapter into submission, the chance is there for my not succeeding in time. I guess we'll see next Friday, but consider yourselves warned.


	11. The Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin takes Tarrlok on a tour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra thanks to DoubtingRabbit for beta-ing, because this chapter was a _bitch_.

It was two days back in the city before Tenzin found himself back in City Hall, making the way from his office to Tarrlok’s. An aide, wiry and high-voiced, occupied the desk that Tarrlok himself had once used, and he stood when Tenzin approached.

“Councilman Tarrlok is not to be disturbed,” said the aide hurriedly, and Tenzin only just stopped himself from doing a double take at the man’s unsuited voice.

“Uh,” Tenzin said, trying to peer around him as he blocked the closed office door, “can you tell him that Councilman Tenzin would like to speak to him?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but he left very clear instructions,” the aide insisted. “Nobody was to disturb him, not even you.”

Tenzin turned away, reflecting that he warranted a 'not even you’, but he supposed it made sense. He remembered how harried he’d been on his own first days on the Council. Tarrlok would have time soon enough, and they could resolve whatever had happened.

But when it happened again the next day, and the next, Tenzin had the distinct impression that it was less about Tarrlok being busy with the transition and more about Tarrlok avoiding him entirely.

An impression confirmed a week later, when Tenzin crossed paths with the waterbender in the hall, and Tarrlok promptly turned on his heel and vanished. And at the Council session, Tenzin couldn’t keep himself from snapping at every word Tarrlok said, earning him little more than a narrow glare.

Whatever had upset Tarrlok - had it really been a question about his emotional well-being? - was still clearly in effect.

A week gone by, the day's meetings adjourned, Tenzin caught up to Tarrlok and only barely kept himself from grabbing his wrist, demanding an explanation. Instead he snapped, “Councilman Tarrlok!”

Tarrlok spun smoothly around to face him, smiling that perfect even smile.

“Councilman Tenzin. Yes?”

Tenzin sputtered for a moment before regaining his head and saying, “I have been trying to arrange a meeting with you all week.”

“Oh, yes,” said Tarrlok, face falling into an appropriately regretful mien. “My apologies, I’ve been very busy.”

“Well, then, maybe we could schedule--”

“And I’ll continue to be very busy for the foreseeable future,” Tarrlok continued, that smile immediately returning. “I’m sure you understand. Good day, sir.” And he walked away, leaving Tenzin to stare at his disappearing back impotently.

“Oh, the energy! To be young again,” said Zirsa at his elbow.

“Wha-- oh, yes,” Tenzin managed, forcing his mind to switch gears from hurt anger to the required congeniality. Which was not half as easy as other politicians made it seem. “He’s certainly-- he’s a hard worker.”

Zirsa smiled and leaned close, conspiratorial. “Thinks he has something to prove,” she stage-whispered. “My oldest daughter is the same way. She works in a law-firm, you know.”

“That’s-- oh, that’s very impressive,” Tenzin said, trying desperately to think of a way out of the situation.

“That’s what I tell her!” Zirsa said. “I tell her, Assalia, you’re already doing so well for your age! There is no need to push yourself--”

“You know, I have an important phone call coming up,” was the best excuse Tenzin could think of. “Excuse me, please.”

“Oh, yes, of course, yes,” Zirsa fluttered, waving her hand magnanimously, as if she was cut off mid-story by a busy politicians a hundred-thousand times.

The stalemate continued for another week before Tenzin decided that he’d had enough. He considered, for a mad moment, sending a large bouquet of flowers, but thankfully came to his senses. Not only would it be ridiculous, it would start bouts of gossip that Tenzin did not need nor want.

He did the sensible thing and sent Tarrlok a book - a scholarly affair, ‘Air Nomad Migration, with Commentary by Avatar Aang’ - and a note promising him a tour of what few artifacts Tenzin and his father had managed to salvage from the four temples. Tenzin rather hoped that appealing to Tarrlok’s insatiable curiosity would net him a result.

Afternoon turned to golden evening, and as Tenzin prepared to head back to Air Temple Island after a long day of overthinking, Tarrlok’s squeaky-voiced aide knocked on his open door. “Sir? From Councilman Tarrlok.”

“Thank you!” Tenzin said, too eagerly, and snatched the folded paper out of the aide’s hands. He cleared his throat and said again, more sedately, “Thank you.”

The aide bowed and withdrew, and Tenzin waited till he was gone before unfolding the note.

> _Councilman Tenzin,_
> 
> _Thank you for your invitation, and for the book. I will call upon the docks of Air Temple Island tomorrow evening, where I will look forward to a personal tour of your culture’s artifacts._
> 
> _Regards,_
> 
> _Councilman Tarrlok._

Studiously polite and impersonal, which Tenzin supposed was sensible. He brushed away any misgivings, letting himself feel only the relief that Tarrlok was at least communicating again.

The next evening found Tenzin and Pema on the docks, watching the ferry come in.

“I’m being polite, Pema,” Tenzin was saying, trying to sound confused instead of guilty.

“Can’t you be polite in the city?” Pema demanded. “I don’t see why you have to ‘be polite’ during dinner, especially to _him_.”

Tenzin blinked and frowned at her. “What-- is it Tarrlok you have a problem with?”

Pema’s mouth tightened to a thin line, and she crossed her arms.

“Why?” said Tenzin, fear curdling his stomach.

“He’s slimy!” Pema blurted. “He’s a slimy, overly familiar politician, and he’s been trying to get you in his pocket for years!”

The relief made Tenzin light-headed for a moment.

”Dear, _I’m_ a politician,” he reminded her.

“Because you have to,” Pema said. “Because someone has to represent the Air Nomads, and you’re the obvious choice, and spirits alone know what depravity the Council would descend into without your influence. He’s a politician because he wants power and control, and he wants to control you!”

“Pema,” Tenzin sighed, “you’re-- yes, he’s a career politician, but he genuinely wants what’s best for Republic City. He’s very passionate about fighting the gangs, for one.”

“He’s trying too hard to be close to you,” Pema said, eyebrows drawing together as she turned away from him.

Tenzin resisted a hysterical giggle, resting his hands on Pema’s shoulders. “Building networks is what civil servants do,” he said. “Yes, from the outside that can look questionable, but I promise you, I’m not being manipulated in the slightest. I know just who he is and what he wants.”

He said it with more certainty than he felt.

Pema sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I hope you’re not expecting me to entertain him,” she said.

“I’ll entertain him plenty myself,” Tenzin assured her, and tried not to think too hard about that.

The ferry docked, releasing a small crowd of acolytes returning with purchases from the mainland, and behind them Tarrlok strolled down the boarding ramp.

“Pema!” Tarrlok said in greeting, his wide smile just short of mocking as he took her hand and bowed low over it.

“Councilman,” Pema said tightly, giving Tenzin a pleading look.

“And Tenzin,” Tarrlok said, perfectly polite, perfectly smiling as he released Pema’s hand and bowed to Tenzin instead. “Thank you so much for your gracious invitation. You know I can’t resist a spot of history.”

“Anything to spread the knowledge of my people,” Tenzin said, which at least seemed to relax the tense lines in Pema’s face.

“I leave you to give the tour,” she said. “The children and I are off to eat.”

“Oh!” Tarrlok looked between them, the very image of the worried guest. “I’m not keeping you from your dinner, am I, Tenzin?”

“I’ll eat later,” Tenzin assured him. Then, to Pema, he said, “Let the children know that I’ll be there to say goodnight, please.”

Pema gave a smile as fake as Tarrlok's, but not half as skilful, and hurried off the docks.

“She doesn’t like you,” Tenzin felt compelled to say as a way of apology.

“I should hope not,” Tarrlok said. “I put a lot of effort into being thoroughly unlikable by her standards.”

Tenzin blinked at him. “What?”

“Well, we didn’t want her to get suspicious, did we? If she had liked me, I would’ve ended up spending far too much time here,” Tarrlok said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The less time spent in each other’s presence where she could see, the better.”

Tenzin noted two things: one, that Tarrlok had used past tense, and that was an uncomfortable thought. Two, that the excuse he offered was weak.

“No,” he said mildly. “No, you don’t like her either, so you made yourself unlikable. I didn’t think you could get jealous, Tarrlok.”

The waterbender gave him a sidelong glare, then pretended he hadn’t heard. “The museum?”

Tenzin led the way into one of the buildings; on the whole island, this was the only one with shuttered windows and thick walls, keeping the treasures within safe from both weather and sunlight. It was, after all, the only things that were left of a once flourishing nation.

The door shut heavily behind them, and Tenzin fumbled for a moment in the gloom to light a gas lamp, lifting it to let the golden light gleam off statues and wooden works of art.

His reward was the low gasp from Tarrlok, the enraptured look on his face.

“It’s divided into four sections,” Tenzin said, his voice hushed as if the history of his people pressed down on him. It always felt that way in this building. The weight of thousands of the dead and what they left behind. “One for each temple.”

He led Tarrlok deeper into the collection, the waterbender pausing at a delicate statue of Yangchen. It had been found buried in the rubble of the Eastern Temple, and Aang had demanded that the scorch marks running up the side of it remain as they were; a testament to its attempted destruction.

“The temples must’ve been glorious in their prime,” Tarrlok said.

“They’ll be rebuilt eventually,” said Tenzin. “Just… not in our lifetime.”

They stood there for a moment in silence, under Yangchen’s serene gaze.

“I upset you before I left,” Tenzin said. “I didn’t mean to.”

Tarrlok sighed harshly. “Of course you didn’t.”

“I just thought-- we’ve been seeing each other for six years, and--”

“ _Fucking_ ,” Tarrlok cut him off, his voice a little too loud. He quieted and said, “We’ve been _fucking_ for six years, Tenzin. I don’t recall agreeing to make this a relationship, and I certainly don’t recall telling you that you could ask me anything you wanted.”

“I want to know you,” Tenzin said, a little helplessly. Yangchen’s face suddenly struck him as disapproving, angry that they would have such a tawdry conversation in this holy place.

“You know,” said Tarrlok, “everything about me that you need to know.”

Tenzin shifted from one foot to the other, trying to bite back his frustration and failing. “I don’t know where you were born,” he said, “or who your parents are, or if you have any siblings. You haven’t told me about where you went to school, or any previous boyfriends-- or-- or girlfriends, for that matter. I want to know who you are, Tarrlok!”

Tarrlok turned on his heel and glared at Tenzin, his mouth drawn into something that was almost a pout. “My parents and siblings are dead,” he said. “I went to the North Pole University, the _only_ watertribal university, and my former boyfriends or girlfriends are absolutely none of your fucking business.”

His voice was venomous, but whatever else remained a mystery about Tarrlok, Tenzin knew him well enough to hear the hurt underneath.

“I’m sorry,” Tenzin said quietly. “I didn’t bring you here just to upset you again.”

Tarrlok scoffed, but he didn’t step away when Tenzin reached to take his hand.

“Do you want to see the rest?” Tenzin prodded.

A deep sigh, and then Tarrlok said, “Yes, sure. Please.”

Tenzin walked him through the collection, twining their fingers together as they pushed deeper into the exhibits. The prayer scrolls; the lines of flags, half of them burnt; the carefully carved and polished meditation stools. A tall stone carved with the jolly image of a fat monk beneath the swirling emblem of his nation. Some of the sulky anger drained from Tarrlok, his curiosity taking over.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to a slender wooden framework, scorched but whole.

"A prayer pavilion," Tenzin said. "It was covered in embroidered fabric, but-- well, it's burned away."

Tarrlok pulled free of Tenzin's hold and almost reached out to touch it, but stopped himself.

"Go ahead," said Tenzin. "It survived the transport; it won't crumble."

With permission, Tarrlok ran his fingers over the carved wood, looking up into the interwoven filigree that made up the dome. "It's amazing what can be done with trees," he said after a moment.

Tenzin couldn't help a smile. Tarrlok faced with something new and interesting dropped all his masks and polite smiles, leaving behind only what Tenzin had to assume was his real self; ravenous for knowledge and awed at its presence.

"Stop looking at me like that," Tarrlok said, but anger was gone. He let his hand drop from the frame.

"No," Tenzin said. "I like watching you enjoy yourself."

That earned him a flat look, and Tarrlok stepped out from under the canopy. Tenzin thought he looked oddly beautiful. Framed by the charred, intricately carved wooden frame, lit from below by the warm light of the lantern; a spectral shadow of dark blues and golds.

 _I want to see him in daylight_ , Tenzin thought suddenly, achingly. No hiding in dim rooms or night-time apartments, no hiding at all. Tarrlok smiling his crooked, secret smile in the sunlight, his hair burnished a dark gold by its rays. Then, Tarrlok moved, stepped away from the pavilion, and the spell was broken, but Tenzin's heart ached strangely even in its absence. He tried pushing the feeling away; it was why he was apologising in the first place.

He failed. "Is this really not a relationship to you?" blurted from his mouth before he could stop it.

Tarrlok froze mid-step, then sighed, moving back to Tenzin's side, but there was a cold distance between them. "No. I suppose I should have made that clearer from the beginning, but I trusted you to have the good sense to realise it." He gave Tenzin a sidelong glance and muttered, "Should have known better..."

Irritation warred with relief at the return of Tarrlok's usual behaviour warred with a hurt that Tenzin didn't quite understand. The waterbender was right, after all; an affair conducted in shadowy corners and behind closed doors was not a relationship. And did he have the right to be offended, after all? He'd never talked about his own family with Tarrlok. All he'd shared of his life was what Tarrlok wanted to hear, the details which made their illicit sex more interesting.

Tenzin swallowed and ignored that it hurt going down. "Of course. You're right, I'm sorry for presuming."

Tarrlok didn't answer. Then, his voice light and polite, he asked, "Show me the rest?"

Putting on something like a gamely smile, Tenzin led him further along in the collection. Furniture, half burned, and the repairs in a visibly lighter wood. Old, fragile saffron cloth, hidden away in storage caverns and spared Sozin's fury. A carving of Yangchen, this time sitting attentively at the feet of a spectral Szeto, his gaunt form wreathed in carefully fashioned spirit fires.

"That doesn't look like an airbender," Tarrlok said idly.

"No, that's-- uh, that's Avatar Yangchen's predecessor, Avatar Szeto," Tenzin said, losing the train of his monologue. "He and Yangchen were supposedly, ah, very close."

The Fire Nation Avatar was smiling faintly, his carved lips turned delicately upwards as he looked affectionately down at his pupil. Yancgchen, in turn, was gazing up raptly, her face in fine profile.

"Like... _close_ , close?" Tarrlok said, his voice somewhere between amused and awkward.

Tenzin blinked. "What?! They're both-- don't be ridiculous, Tarrlok; the Avatar line doesn't work that way!"

Tarrlok shrugged, gesturing at the carving, and Tenzin supposed that, if you squinted, it could be perceived as vaguely romantic. The more he looked, the more the smile in Szeto's eyes seemed to pass from mentorly. And from his own studies, Tenzin noted that Yangchen's hands might even be held in a position that traditionally meant something not unlike 'ancestral love' or possibly 'divine congress'.

"Sometimes people just work well together!" Tenzin sputtered, not sure why he was bothering. Tarrlok was clearly winding him up. "They just-- they just fit! It doesn't have to be--" The hurt welled back, the one that he barely understood, and he fell silent.

Tarrlok sighed. "What? What is it you're not saying?"

Tenzin opened his mouth to brush it off, to carry on, but he couldn't force the words out. He stared at the carving until his vision unfocused, and then before he could think better of it said, "I don't know if I can-- if this isn't a relationship, Tarrlok, what is it?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Tarrlok look up at the ceiling in exasperation, arms crossing. "Don't tell me you're falling in love."

"No, but-- is it so strange that I feel affection for you?" Tenzin demanded. "That I want to understand you better? If-- if you don't want that, I'll go along with it, but I just don't--"

"You don't understand why," Tarrlok said, his voice harsh and only growing harsher. "Of course you don't. You have nothing to fear. Who'd ever leave behind the Avatar's son when--" Tenzin looked at him sharply, and he stopped short, lips pressed in a thin line.

"Who left you behind?" Tenzin asked, knowing he'd get no answer. Knowing he had to ask anyway.

Tarrlok breezed past him, gesturing at a row of prayer scrolls. "What's this?"

Tenzin watched him, the tense line of his back under the coat, his one hand clenched by his thigh. "Prayer scrolls," he answered. And then, "You're the only freedom I've ever taken."

Tarrlok's shoulders slumped, his head dropping forward in defeat. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm the Avatar's son," Tenzin said, slow and halting. "I was the last airbender from the time my father died and until Jinora was born. I had to-- to rebuild a nation, all on my own. My entire life had been just that, been carrying a whole culture on my shoulders. A culture I have to keep in a museum!" He looked around the remnants of a near-dead people, the tragedy and enormity of their loss bearing down on him like a mountain. An avalanche of emotion. "I helped make this island a temple because the real ones are destroyed. I took in acolytes so that I could pass my culture on. I sit in government because I'm the only Air Nomad who can! I left Lin because she didn't want children! I married Pema because she did--!"

Tarrlok's hands were on his shoulders, clutching hard enough to hurt. "Tenzin, _breathe_."

"You are the only thing in my life," Tenzin continued, undaunted and panicked, "that I have _just to have_."

He knew he looked to be a mess. Otherwise he couldn't imagine that Tarrlok would actually allow concern to show in those pale eyes. It brought Tenzin back to himself. He swallowed, nearly choking on his own tongue.

"Sorry. I'm sorry."

"You're always so damnably emotional," Tarrlok said, but he sounded more confused than irritated.

Tenzin nearly laughed. He only stopped himself because he feared the laughter would turn hysterical. "I inherited my mother's temperament," he said.

"If Master Katara is as overwrought as you, it's a wonder she didn't emote the Fire Nation to its knees," Tarrlok said, some of the acerbic bite returning to his voice, even as his thumb brushed away something wet on Tenzin’s cheek. Tenzin, who knew very well how deeply Tarrlok idolised Tenzin's mother, didn't take it to heart.

"I'm sorry," he said, steady enough to meet Tarrlok's eyes again. "I thought we had something we didn't, and I'm sorry. I won't-- I won't push."

Tarrlok's hands slipped from Tenzin's shoulders, and the waterbender turned away again, considering the prayer scrolls. "Good. Just so we both understand."

"It's not a relationship," Tenzin repeated as dutifully as he'd memorized his chanting, and the ache felt dulled just a little. He could learn to accept that.

Tenzin rolled his shoulders, willed the tension away, and stepped to Tarrlok's side. "These were the only ones we found," he said. His voice was still rough, but he pressed through it. "From the Southern Temple. It looked like-- after the Fire Nation beat down the resistance, they seemed to have aimed for cultural artifacts like this."

Tarrlok nodded silently.

"I don't know how these survived," Tenzin said. "My father thought that, well, some airbenders managed to fend off the final attack entirely before succumbing."

They stood there, side by side, an almost palpable barrier in the few inches of air between them. After a moment, Tarrlok crossed the space, his hand brushing briefly against Tenzin's. The airbender steeled himself for whatever Tarrlok would say next.

When he spoke, however, his voice was soft, almost hesitant. “My father’s dead,” he said. “My mother’s still alive, but I don’t talk to her. And…” Tarrlok hesitated, and when he spoke again, Tenzin could hear the razor's edge of pain, “I had a brother. He’s dead too.”

Tenzin turned his hand, twined his fingers with Tarrlok's.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Tarrlok's only answer was to nod towards the prayer scrolls. "So. Tell me what they say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys. _You guys._ This chapter was an unholy nightmare. There was a sex scene in this originally, but after spending five weeks opening the story document, staring blankly at the unfinished chapter for twenty minutes and then closing it again, I had to cut it just to keep my goddamn sanity and be able to finish it. DoubtingRabbit was my _rock_ and my _salvation_.
> 
> Also, uh, the allusions to Yangchen and Szeto being... _close_ is a dumb li'l thing that DR and I came up with back when we watched ATLA before LoK came out. So you know. You can take it as writ or as Tarrlok being a bitch to wind up Tenzin, up to you.


	12. The Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin and Tarrlok have a political disagreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is unto us mortals as the sun unto the grass. Best beta.

“Are you deliberately being obtuse, Councilman Tenzin?”

“No, Chairman Tarrlok,” said Tenzin, his voice ringing off the council walls tartly. “I am simply calling attention to the flaws in your proposal.”

Tarrlok gestured to the rest of the Council who ranged from amused to bored. “Gentlemen, madam, I think you can see that the good Councilman is being unreasonable, and I can only question his lack of desire to fight the triads.”

“You-- that-- I do not appreciate your insinuation, Chairman!” Tenzin sputtered.

“I insinuate nothing, sir,” Tarrlok said, entirely too smugly. “I hold myself aghast at your lack of will.”

Tenzin took a deep breath and held up Tarrlok’s proposal, the paper snapping crisply. “Then you should understand _my_ questioning of this lackadaisical nonsense.”

Tarrlok’s smug smile fell away into an irritated frown. “Whatever you may think of it, I assure you there is nothing nonsensical in--”

“Answer me this, Chairman Tarrlok,” Tenzin cut him off. “Why does a motion for a special task force include giving that task force access to otherwise confidential private information?”

“In order to root out--”

“By nosing through medical records?” Tenzin said. “Credit histories? What next, will you start tapping telephone lines?”

“There is a provision for that,” said Tarrlok.

The rest of the Council was moving back to Tenzin’s side, Zirsa especially looking disturbed at the notion. He had enough practice at this to bring it back under control.

“If,” said Tenzin, “you were merely suggesting a task force focusing on the triads, or if you were to merely set down a committee to examine the problem in depth, then I would heartily support it. But this?”

“And what exactly do you think should be examined?” Tarrlok demanded, leaning over his part of the table, the better to glare at Tenzin.

“Poverty and its effect on crime, for one,” Tenzin said. Tarrlok scoffed loudly. He ignored it, continued, “Gangs don’t rise from nothing!”

“No,” said Tarrlok, acid dripping from his words, “they rise from greedy men who want more at the expense of everyone else. They rise from violent thugs who will happily hurt the innocent if it meant getting their way. And you, apparently, have no interest in stopping that!”

“I do, but not at the expense of the rights of our citizens!” Tenzin said, slapping the proposal back on the table. “If we do, how are we any better than them?!”

Tarrlok flushed with rage at his words, lips pressing into a thin, furious line.

“I think,” Guan Ting said, “that we should all take a deep breath and calm ourselves before taking a vote.”

“Agreed,” Zirsa said too quickly. “Come on, you two; there’s no need for this squabbling.”

“Unprofessional,” agreed Nakada, nodding his balding head.

Tenzin cleared his throat and nodded. “Of course. My apologies to the Council and to the Chairman if I overstepped.”

For a moment, Tarrlok seemed as if he wanted to remain silent. But finally, “My apologies as well.” He straightened in his chair, making a visible effort to calm himself. “All in favour of my proposal?”

Only Guan Ting and Tarrlok himself raised their hands. Tenzin breathed a relieved sigh.

“Proposal rejected,” Tarrlok said, doing his level best to sound unaffected and failing as he beat the gavel.

Later, Tenzin sat in his office and waited, half-mindedly sending tiny typhoons across his desk. He knew how this worked by now; had learned an entirely new dynamic to their relatio-- their _arrangement_ after Tarrlok began his work as Councilman in earnest. 

It was then that their political disagreements ran deep and often vicious, and their heated sniping in the Council chamber turned to heated sex later. Which was fortunate, because if Tenzin had not had that to look forward to, there were many times where he would have strangled Tarrlok right there, in front of the audience. Usually, Tenzin lost his cool on the speaker's floor and they ended up in the waterbender’s office. It was a minor wonder that Tarrlok's wide, expensive desk was still in one piece.

But, Tenzin had won this bout, and so he waited for Tarrlok to come to him. He didn’t have to wait long before Tarrlok stormed into his office and slammed the door shut. 

“You fucking prick!” Tarrlok spat.

“So much for diplomacy,” Tenzin said.

“Don’t you-- don’t-- argh!” Tarrlok paced back and forth across the office looking very much like he wanted to punch Tenzin.

“It was a bad proposal,” said Tenzin.

“How?!” Tarrlok demanded. “I wrote in the budget, the requirements, the special dispensations! It’s polished!”

“Exactly,” said Tenzin, “and so full of loopholes for you to exploit that it’s a wonder the paper didn’t fall apart.”

Tarrlok stopped short and gave Tenzin a glare so venomous that Tenzin almost expected to get burned.

“Ah, but of course you knew that,” Tenzin continued, stroking his beard while treading dangerous ground. “After all, you wrote the whole thing yourself.”

“I bet you feel very good about yourself right now,” Tarrlok said coldly, leaning his palms on Tenzin’s desk the better to loom.

“Honestly? Yes,” said Tenzin. “I stopped an infringement on the rights of Republic City’s citizens, and I stopped you from clawing evermore power into your grasp.”

“Fuck you."

“Gladly,” said Tenzin. “There’s very little I wouldn’t do for you, Tarrlok, but letting you turn this city into your personal fiefdom is not part of it.”

Tarrlok pushed away from the desk and spun his back to Tenzin, hands on his hips. His spine was a tense line, even under his stylish coat. Tenzin allowed him to gather up his temper and sort it properly, leaning back in his chair and enjoying the view before he said, “Come here."

“You have no idea,” Tarrlok said, back still turned, “how badly I want to bend Yue Bay into your face right now.”

“I have some idea,” said Tenzin. Then, more firmly, “Come here.”

Tarrlok huffed out a breath and finally complied, moving to Tenzin side and, with only a token resistance, let Tenzin take his hand.

“You are a delight when you pout,” Tenzin said.

Tarrlok scoffed, but a slight smile still touched his lips. 

“I’m going to keep trying to get that task force through,” he said, mulishly.

“And I’m going to keep making sure no one agrees with you,” Tenzin said, kissing the palm of that dark, slender, manicured hand.

“You’re such a prick,” Tarrlok said, but his voice softened with another kiss pressed to his wrist.

“I believe you already established that in your opening arguments,” Tenzin said. He tugged at Tarrlok, maneuvering him back against the desk. Tarrlok allowed it with a small, aggravated sigh.

"Did you consider that my plan might actually help?"

"Oh, I'm sure it would in the short term," Tenzin conceded, picking open the ivory buttons of Tarrlok's vest. "In the long term, it would give you unlimited power over Republic City. I think you've got enough of that as it is."

"Being persuasive isn't the same as being powerful," Tarrlok said. "It's hardly my fault that you can't talk your way out of a wet paper bag."

Tenzin gave him a Look.

He got only a smirk in return, so he set about ignoring the waterbender's needling in favour of getting his elaborate belt open. Being elected truly had taken Tarrlok's fashion sense from the showy to the ostentatious. Tarrlok, meanwhile, didn't bother to show interest in being slowly undressed, poking through the paper on Tenzin's desk. He stopped at one sheet, frowning and tilting his head before picking it up.

"Academic research," Tenzin said as he recognised it, trying not to go bright red.

"'Use and Spirituality of Sex Aids in Air Nomad Culture'," Tarrlok read the title aloud, amused. "Sex toys, Tenzin?"

"Meditation tools," Tenzin corrected him. "The-- the Fire Nation destroyed most of them, but we found some sets, and they seem to have been standard equipment for adult Nomads, and-- look, it's for the Republic University. Just let’s put that down." He ducked his head and focused on working open Tarrlok's trousers.

"I do like when you blush," Tarrlok said. "It sets off your arrow." But he put down the document.

Tenzin let him have the win to ease the sting of the greater loss in the Council Chamber, tugging fine cloth down over Tarrlok's hips, baring his sex.

"What're you doing?" Tarrlok asked.

By way of answering, Tenzin leaned in and pressed a kiss to the base of the other's cock, hoping he was masking his uncertainty at the action better than he felt.

"Tenzin, you don't even know how to give a blowjob," said Tarrlok, zeroing in on that uncertainty with unerring precision and a roll of his eyes.

But Tenzin did his level best to ignore him - an impossibility as he'd learned over the last several years - mouthing his way down the shaft, an odd thrill at the feel of velvety skin on his lips.

After a moment Tarrlok sighed in concession, and Tenzin felt rather than saw his body relaxing, leaning more heavily on the desk.

"Just… remember to watch your teeth."

Tenzin couldn't help it, flicking an irritated look up at him even as he ran his tongue down the length.

"Glare all you want," Tarrlok said, airily, "but it's not as self-evident as you seem to think."

Not deigning to give that a response, Tenzin returned his attention to Tarrlok's dick in earnest. Irritatingly the waterbender was right; Tenzin had never done this before, and had very little idea of how to do it. In the end he settled for trying to replicate what Tarrlok did to him, cradling the shaft and wrapping his lips tentatively around the crown. Tarrlok's slender fingers came up to run over his head, and Tenzin realised he was tracing the line of his arrow.

It was a strange, heady feeling, going well with the strange, heady taste, and Tenzin focused on that; the warm softness on his tongue and the dallying of clever fingertips on his scalp. Keeping his thoughts on the sensory, he wouldn't have to think about the horribly scandalous thing he was doing.

He sucked Tarrlok deeper - rewarded with a low noise that was almost a sigh, breathy enough to send shivers up Tenzin's spine - and settled his hands, hesitant, on the waterbender's hips.

"You don't have to be _that_ careful," Tarrlok said, sounding both husky and amused.

Tenzin pulled back in a huff and wrapped his hand - that he pretended wasn't trembling - around Tarrlok's cock. "I've never done this before, you know."

"No, I noticed," said Tarrlok, and when Tenzin glared up at him, he was smirking. "Just-- wet your lips more, to start. Move your mouth. What do you do when you eat out Pema?"

"I-- uh," Tenzin said, avoiding Tarrlok's eyes.

"Oh, moon, really?" Tarrlok said. "Not even once?!"

"She doesn't like using mouth," Tenzin said in a way that tried to be prim, but only managed embarrassed.

Tarrlok made a choked sound, a stifled laugh, then cleared his throat. His eyes gleamed, both amused and hungry. "Well, alright. So. Wet your lips."

Tenzin sighed deeply and did so.

"Use your tongue more, lick if you have to," Tarrlok continued as Tenzin played the pupil. "Suck; that's why it's called 'sucking off'. If you want to try throating it, it helps to drop your--" He either caught sight of Tenzin's expression or came to his senses. "Actually, no, don't try that. For both our sakes."

"I think that's, uh," Tenzin stammered. He decided he didn't want to finish that sentence, instead leaning in to pick up where he left off between Tarrlok's thighs. Tarrlok fell silent - thankfully - when he wrapped his lips around the hardening cock once more.

It was then that the awkwardness melted away and Tenzin found something like a rhythm to what he was doing.

Hollowing his cheeks and sucking Tarrlok deeper got him a hitch in the waterbender's breathing. Pressing his tongue flat against the underside of the shaft netted him a soft sigh and a caress down the nape of his neck. Drawing back to run his tongue over the head resulted in what was almost a whimper and the faint taste of salt.

His hands settled back on Tarrlok's hips, kneading at the skin, and he could feel a subtle rocking beneath his fingers. Both pride and arousal burst in him at that, and he sucked Tarrlok's dick deeper again.

"Oh, see," Tarrlok breathed, voice low, "now you're getting it."

Tenzin hummed absently in reply, and _that_ got a soft moan from Tarrlok with the waterbender slumping further, one hand leaving Tenzin's scalp to clutch onto the desk. Glancing up, even in his awkward position, Tenzin caught a glimpse of Tarrlok's face; pale eyes closed, a flush across his high cheekbones, his clever mouth hanging open just the slightest bit in rapture.

It was a trial for Tenzin to not start palming at himself through his robes at that sight, but he managed, fingers digging into Tarrlok's hips. He picked up the hum again, an almost chant-like drone in the back of his throat, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the knuckles on Tarrlok's hand turn pale.

"Oh, that's-- that's better than I expected from you," Tarrlok said, the sting of his words entirely undermined by the soft lust in his tone.

Nor did Tenzin let it get to him, simply kept on, taking Tarrlok as deep as he dared without gagging. The hand on the back of Tenzin's neck tightened, and Tarrlok's hips strained against Tenzin's fingers.

It was demanding enough to both send a thrum through Tenzin's belly, and to make him stubbornly draw away, pulling his lips off Tarrlok's cock with a liquid _pop!_ \- and it twitched at that sound, a soft noise escaping Tarrlok - his hand taking over for a moment. "You're a terrible teacher."

"I'm an excellent teacher," said Tarrlok, and his voice had only grown more husky. "Just look at how well you're doing."

Tenzin gave him an irritated look before bending back to his task, drawing a long, broad lick down the shaft.

Tarrlok moaned properly this time, and just a touch louder than Tenzin was comfortable with. By instinct his eyes flicked towards the door, still securely shut.

"It's fine," Tarrlok said, somehow managing to sound irritated. "I closed it."

"You slammed it," Tenzin corrected him primly before cutting off any reply Tarrlok might have made by sealing his lips around the waterbender's straining cock again, suckling at the warm skin.

Determined to be a nuisance, even without words, Tarrlok moaned too-loudly again, his manicured nails scraping over Tenzin's scalp. Tenzin hummed again, and another moan broke off in a choked gasp. Beneath Tenzin's hands, Tarrlok's hips jerked forward.

"Go on," Tarrlok gasped.

Tenzin kept going, rumbling in his throat even as he hollowed his cheeks and drew slowly back up Tarrlok's dick. It was twitching again, something wet and salty dribbling onto Tenzin's tongue.

"Keep going, keep going," Tarrlok moaned, his hand tightened convulsively on the nape of Tenzin's neck, his hips jolting forward again, and suddenly Tenzin's mouth was full of something viscous and thoroughly disgusting. He gagged and coughed, jerking back and away.

"Warn me!" he sputtered, Tarrlok's come falling unceremoniously from his lips and into his beard.

Tarrlok laughed, a little breathless, and rummaged in a pocket to hand Tenzin a handkerchief. "A gentleman swallows, you know."

"That's _disgusting_!" Tenzin spat, wiping at his mouth and beard.

"Matter of taste," Tarrlok said, amused. He leaned down and kissed Tenzin's flushed cheek. "You know--"

Whatever it was that Tarrlok was about to say, Tenzin would never know. He was cut off by a rapid knock at the door. The handle started turning, and Tenzin felt his stomach drop hard and sudden. There was Tarrlok, half-naked and flushed, his dick hanging out, and there would be no mistaking what had happened between them. Years of secrecy, and now they were going to be caught because Tenzin's aides had never learned to wait for an answer.

And then, amidst the panic, Tarrlok vanished, and Tenzin was left blinking owlishly as the aide stuck his head in.

"Sir?"

"Uh," Tenzin said, handkerchief still clutched to his mouth. He looked around and realised that Tarrlok's pale eyes peered up at him from beneath the desk. "Yes?"

"It's those by-laws you asked for, sir," said the aide and stepped into the office.

Tenzin hurried to roll his chair forward, crowding Tarrlok under the desk but also, more importantly, hiding him. "Yes, of course, thank you."

The aide set down a sheaf of paper on the desk, then glanced around the office. "The Chairman left, then?"

"Ah, yes," said Tenzin, very calmly picking up the top sheet of paper. He could practically feel Tarrlok's amusement. "We didn't have much to say to each other."

"Well, he's not in his office either," said the aide, his eyebrows drawing together and his now unoccupied hands clutching together.

Tenzin opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly he felt clever fingers pushing aside his robes and picking open his trousers, and he was going to absolutely kill Tarrlok.

"Sir?" asked the aide.

"Huh?" said Tenzin. "Oh! Yes, well, he probably went to cool off somewhere." A warm tongue flicked at the base of Tenzin's cock. "Thank you, that will be all."

The aide nodded and stepped back, only to pause. "Uh, sir, you have something..." He gestured vaguely.

Tenzin glanced down at what was very clearly a spatter of seed on his cape, and he hurried to scrub at it with the handkerchief. "Ah!" he said. "That's-- that's congee. Very clumsy of me." Tarrlok's tongue meandered its way up his shaft. "Th-thank you for letting me know."

"Of course, sir," said the aide, and Tarrlok's lips wrapped wetly around Tenzin's dick. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"I will," said Tenzin, and somehow didn't choke on the words. "Please, uh... shut the door on your way out."

"Yes, sir," the aide said and finally, blessedly, left, pulling the door shut behind him. Beneath the desk, fingers dallied over Tenzin's sac, and Tarrlok sucked at him with a very audible noise.

"Are you _trying_ to get us caught?!" Tenzin hissed down at him, having to lean back in his chair to glare.

Tarrlok flicked a smug look his way, lips pursed as they wrapped luridly around Tenzin's dick halfway down. Tenzin slumped in his chair, defeated, and let Tarrlok do as he pleased.

Which turned out to be raising his head, hot breath skirting over the crown of Tenzin's cock, as he mildly asked, "What do you need by-laws for?"

Tenzin sighed. "I'm going to figure out how to block your next ridiculous task force proposal."

"You really think I didn't check local regulations before making my case?" Tarrlok demanded, sounding more amused than miffed - but still miffed.

"There are a lot of--" Tenzin was saying, but then Tarrlok bent his head again and sucked him deep, swallowing him down to the hilt. For a moment there was nothing but the warm, slick pressure of Tarrlok's throat.

Then Tarrlok let up, if only a little; drawing back to bob his head in Tenzin's lap at a leisurely pace, his tongue pressing against the underside of the shaft. Exactly as he preached.

Tenzin let him have it. He'd already beaten Tarrlok where it mattered, in the Council Chamber. This was just dirty talk to keep it interesting. He let a hand brush affectionately over Tarrlok's hair, a moan escaping him.

Tarrlok swallowed him in full again and this time, as much student as teacher, he hummed as Tenzin had done.

Tenzin's breath caught in his throat and his hand tightened in Tarrlok's hair.

"Oh," he gasped. The sound thrummed through his cock, vibrated around it like a pulled string, sending a wave of pleasure up Tenzin's spine and making his scalp prickle. "Oh, that's--"

There was another knock at the door, and Tenzin nearly choked on his own tongue, sitting up straight. "Y-yes?"

The door was already opening, another aide bustling in with an armful of forms and her face caught in a harried expression. "Sorry, sir, but you really need to sign these!"

"What-- wh-- why are--" Tenzin stammered. Tarrlok was dragging his mouth up along Tenzin's sex with agonising slowness, lips a tight seal.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she was saying, laying the forms out in piles on his desk. "Chin was supposed to have gotten these to you a week ago, but I think he's got some sort of side-project, and he keeps forgetting-- I should have been on top of this, sir; I'm really sorry. They need to be signed today!"

"Uh," said Tenzin, staring down at the five stacks before him (and the sixth stack of by-laws), trying to understand what he was looking at. Tarrlok had gone back to sliding his lips - and his tongue, warm and wet and undulating - up and down his cock.

"Do you have a pen, sir?" the aide prodded, her eyes wide.

"Y-yes," Tenzin managed, glancing from the forms to her and back again. "Does it-- do you-- when, exactly, do these need to be signed?"

She turned to look at the clock, and Tarrlok took Tenzin's dick down his throat again. Tenzin wheezed, a hand clamping onto the edge of his desk.

"By eight at the latest," said the aide, then looked at him with concern. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Mm, yes, of course," Tenzin gasped. "Stomach cramp. Something I ate."

"Are you sure you're in a condition to--" she started.

"Yes!" Tenzin said, nodding and trying to give her a calm smile. He managed something like frantic. He waved her off instead. "It'll pass. I'll, uh... I'll get them signed."

She looked at him, dubious, and he somehow managed not to crack. Tarrlok had drawn back and was suckling at the head of his cock like he needed it to live.

"Well, alright," she said finally.

"Thank you," Tenzin said, and somehow he didn't sound as impatient or desperate as he felt. He picked up a pen as a sign of good will, but his loins were thrumming, and little white sparks of pleasure were jumping up through his body. By the grace of extensive training alone he looked entirely still.

"Eight o' clock, sir," she said sternly, only barely remembering to pull the door shut behind her.

Tenzin slumped back in his chair with something like a sob of relief, his hips pushing towards Tarrlok of their own accord. Tarrlok in turn swallowed Tenzin down again, and the world went a sweet, blunt white.

"Oh, fuck...!" Tenzin choked out, clapping one hand over his mouth and the other onto Tarrlok's head, keeping him in place as Tenzin came.

The pen clattered to the floor.

The pleasure faded, and Tenzin trembled briefly, letting go of Tarrlok.

The waterbender pulled off his dick with a wet sound and licked his lips, raising an eyebrow up at Tenzin.

"See what I did?"

Tenzin blinked, confused, then huffed as he understood. "You swallowed?"

"Exactly," said Tarrlok, tapping a finger on Tenzin's thigh to underscore his point, "because I have _manners_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun trivia fact: Chin the aide's side-project is learning chi-blocking in an Equalist training facility.


	13. The Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin gets a letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not only is DoubtingRabbit the finest beta on god's green earth; they also made [a playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDi2U3ksQJ6S8dYE0wxkdkiultQjwAn21) for my fic!

The stack of memos and mail flopped onto Tenzin's desk with little fanfare, and he gave the aide a tired smile of thanks, picking the topmost memo off the pile. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that he was in no mood for small talk and made her way out.

The memo was from Zirsa; a formal invitation to lunch together, ostensibly to discuss a proposal they were co-sponsoring, but Tenzin knew the firebender well enough to know that it would dissolve into gossip within ten minutes.

Something caught his eye, and he glanced back at the stack. A brown envelope stuck out like a sore thumb among the crisp white memos and letters. Tenzin frowned and pulled it free, flipping it over. It was sealed with cheap, red wax, but no stamp, meaning it had been dropped off in person. He peeled it open and slid out the three squares of paper inside.

And was greeted with a grainy, but unmistakable, photo of himself and Tarrlok, their arms wound around each other, their faces close together.

Tenzin felt as if the temperature in his office turned glacial, and his stomach somersaulted. He glanced at the half-open door, then looked at the next photo, which appeared to have been taken from across the street from Tarrlok's apartment building.. It was of him and Tarrlo, huddled in the shadows by the entrance, kissing.

He swallowed and slid the third and final photo to the top, and sure enough; a shot through the large windows of Tarrlok's office, of Tarrlok half-naked and sitting on his desk, and Tenzin himself busily seeing to what clothes remained. Tenzin slammed the photos face-down, rattling the envelope desperately with his other hand. Nothing drifted out; no explanation, no demands for hush-money. Nothing.

After a panicked moment he realised that there was something written on the back of the final photograph and, trembling, he brushed the other two aside to read it.

In sharp, clear, nondescript signs, it spelled out:  _ STAY AWAY FROM HIM _ .

Tenzin stared at it for a moment, confused and frightened, then hastily stuffed all three photos back in the envelope and stood hard enough to send his chair spinning.

"Sir?" called an aide after him as he rushed out of his office.

"Nothing to worry about," he replied, voice somehow steady. "Just some urgent business with the chairman!"

How no one noticed the nervousness that had to be roiling beneath his surface as he strode around the gallery to Tarrlok's grand driftwood doors, was a miracle, Tenzin was sure. One door was open, and he barged in on Tarrlok and his secretary deep in conversation. "Tarrlok!"

They both blinked owlishly at him, and then Tarrlok frowned. "I'm in the middle of something, Councilman; surely you can wait--"

"I cannot," Tenzin cut him off. "I need to discuss an urgent - and deeply confidential - matter with you. Now!"

"Very well," Tarrlok sighed and slumped back in his chair, waving a slim, dark hand at his secretary. "Close the door behind you; apparently the Councilman needs privacy."

The secretary bowed and scuttled out with a worried look at Tenzin, but the door clicked shut behind him.

"Well? What do you need to yell at me about?"

Tenzin's answer was to drop the envelope in front of him before crossing his arms tight over his chest.

That earned him a raised brow and Tarrlok slid the photos out of the envelope. It was brief, and Tenzin only noticed because he was watching him, but Tarrlok froze.

"Ah," he said.

"What do we do?!" said Tenzin, his voice hoarse with panic.

"What do they want?" asked Tarrlok, glancing up at him.

Tenzin twirled a finger. "Look at the back."

Tarrlok flipped the photos over, frowning deeply as he read the text. "What the..." he muttered. "That's it?"

"There's nothing else," Tenzin said, throwing his hands up. He started pacing in front of Tarrlok's desk, hands clasped tightly, his nervous energy bubbling and choking him.

"What kind of blackmail is this?" Tarrlok asked, mostly to himself it seemed, and examined the envelope as if Tenzin could have missed something.

"The kind that wants me to stay away from you," Tenzin said, and his tone would have been dry if it hadn't been shaking. "Any secret admirers you haven't told me about?"

"Dozens," said Tarrlok, picking at the wax with an intent look on his face.

"Have you gotten anything?" pressed Tenzin, and both of them looked at the stack of papers at Tarrlok's elbow.

Tarrlok dropped the envelope and rifled through the pile, but there was nothing more than the expected memos, forms and letters.

"No," he said finally.

"Why only me?!" Tenzin demanded, pacing again. He glanced nervously out the window as if he could spot a camera in any of the surrounding buildings.

"You have more to lose," Tarrlok said, turning his attention back to the damned envelope and its contents. "Besides, it seems less like blackmail and more like a personal problem with you specifically. Maybe I've picked up a stalker." He sounded unconcerned.

Tenzin turned on his heel to give him a disbelieving look. "This could ruin us, Tarrlok! Both of us!"

"Stop tugging on your beard," Tarrlok said. "You'll pull it off at this rate." His pale eyes didn't leave the photos, narrow and considering.

Tenzin realised that he was, indeed, tugging at his beard and let his hand drop, clenching it into a fist to keep it from returning. "What do we do?"

Tarrlok took a deep breath and sighed it out. "For now I suggest we be more discrete. Clearly we've been careless."

"Tarrlok--"

"Only go in the roof entrance of my apartment building from now on," Tarrlok continued blithely, "let this defender of my virtue believe they've won."

Tenzin swallowed back nausea. "What if--"

"They're threatening you because of me," Tarrlok interrupted his thought process sharply. "I don't think Pema even figures into their considerations.  _ Breathe _ , Tenzin."

Tenzin breathed, watching the waterbender return to examining the photos again.

"Well, we're not dealing with a professional photographer," Tarrlok said. "It's been developed unevenly, and the paper's been cut crooked."

"And?" Tenzin demanded, glancing out the window again. "What difference does that make?"

"It means less eyes on pictures incriminating both of us," Tarrlok said, voice sharp, and scowled at him. "Can you imagine if this person had taken these negatives to a professional developer? How many people would have seen this?"

"Oh," said Tenzin. He forced himself calm, tried to quell the panic enough to match Tarrlok's calm. "What else?"

"The envelope is generic, which is probably deliberate, but the wax is cheap which is probably not," Tarrlok said. "My noble defender of virtue seemingly spends most of their time in the poorer districts."

Tenzin couldn't help a scoff and a dry, "You'd think they'd be less concerned with your virtue than with your policies."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to handle the blackmail or did you want another debate?" Tarrlok shot back, but his attention was still on the photos. He picked one up, the one with writing, and held it up flat with a frown.

"What?"

Tarrlok stood, walking over to one of the massive windows. Despite himself, Tenzin trailed after him.

"Look at this," Tarrlok said, holding the photo up to the light, flipping it flat. In the glare of the sun, Tenzin could see just how deeply the letters had been pressed into the paper, as well as faint traces of something else.

"What--" he started.

"I can make out 'kill' and 'deviant'," Tarrlok said. "Presumably written on another photo that was then discarded." That facade of meticulous interest cracked, worry showing through.

Tenzin felt sick. "What does that mean?"

"It means that from now on we're going to be very careful what we do and where," Tarrlok said. "Let them believe they've won. It'll be safer for you."

"Surely you don't think they would actually..." Tenzin couldn't bear to finish the sentence, only gesture queasily.

Tarrlok let his hand drop, clutching the photo. Tenzin could see the paper buckling in his fingers. Tarrlok said, "You'd be amazed at what people can do when they're desperate enough."

Tenzin looked out the window, scanning the buildings surrounding the plaza for a desperate moment as if he could spot a hidden photographer in the gleaming high-rises. For an even more desperate moment, he nearly suggested following the instructions of Tarrlok's stalker, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

Stay away from Tarrlok? As if Tenzin hadn't tried.

In those first heady months where every liaison started with Tenzin scolding himself for giving in and ended with Tenzin promising himself it would be the last time. Yet he'd crawled back again and again. For years now.

No. Tenzin knew too well that even this threat couldn't keep him from Tarrlok. He closed his mouth again and sighed.

"I suppose I would be."

Tarrlok was glaring at the same buildings Tenzin had been eyeing.

"I'll take care of these photos," he said. "You, however, need to head down to the mail department."

"What? Why? Take care how?" Tenzin stammered, thrown by the cold authority in Tarrlok's voice.

The photo crumpled to a ball in Tarrlok's hand, and he said, "I'm going to burn them. That letter was hand-delivered, and you need to find out by whom. Say it was, oh... some heartfelt plea from the Dragon Flats, but they didn't think to leave a return address."

Something like offense stirred in Tenzin's chest at the thought of using the very real suffering of the people in the slums, and how casually Tarrlok spoke of it, but fear won out. He swallowed.

"Right. Of course."

"You know, I rather like it when you take orders," Tarrlok said, but his face was blank. At least until he turned away from the window and shot Tenzin a smirk.

Tenzin huffed and tried to bristle, but the smirk disarmed him.

“Well, don’t get used to it!” he still managed. Even so, something not quite relief was coursing through him; Tarrlok had a plan, Tarrlok knew how to handle it. It was more than Tenzin, in his panic, had been capable of doing.

Tarrlok, unknowing of Tenzin's not-quite-relief, chuckled as he gathered up the other two photos, crumpling them as well. "Get going, before someone takes pictures of you lingering in my office."

Tenzin flicked a worried look at the windows again before nodding, slipping back out the door.

By the time he made it down to the mail department, he was almost calm again. His heart had stopped pounding, and all that was left of the panic was a small, tight knot in his stomach.

"A plain brown envelope," he was explaining, "with a seal of cheap, red wax. It was addressed to me."

"I mean, yeah, I know it," said the clerk, "but it was already here when I arrived." She smiled apologetically. "It could have been handed in by anyone, Councilman. Usually the street kids; they earn a few yuan by hand-delivering letters. It's faster than the postal system."

"So no one saw who delivered it?" Tenzin asked, dejected.

"Maybe-- hey, Yun-Lee," said the clerk to another woman.

The other woman didn't even look up from sorting through envelopes, a hand-rolled cigarette hanging on her lip like it wanted to jump. "Hm?"

"Did you see who delivered the brown envelope to Councilman Tenzin?"

Yun-Lee finally looked up, not remotely interested. "We got somethin' like thirty hand-delivered letters during last night. I saw 'em, but I couldn't tell you who they were."

Tenzin leaned over the counter and said, "Who came by to drop the letters off?"

Yun-Lee sighed a cloud of smoke. "'bout a dozen street kids, at least seven hobos, maybe eight - wasn't sure 'bout that one guy - 'round 'bout six gangsters tryin' not to look it, couple o' regular folks and one fancy lady."

"Really?" said the clerk, perking up curiously. "A fancy lady?"

"Left somethin' for Councilwoman Zirsa," said Yun-Lee. "That I do remember. Gilded envelope."

"But you really can't recall who left the brown one?" Tenzin prodded.

Yun-Lee shrugged. "It was dark. Sorry, Councilman."

"What was it?" said the clerk.

"Oh, uh," Tenzin said, "a letter from someone in the Dragon Flats. He asked for help, but there was no return address." He winced internally at how easily Tarrlok's lie rattled from his lips.

"Dragon Flats," said Yun-Lee through the haze of her cigarette. "Prob'ly one of the hobos then."

The clerk shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Councilman. We can keep an eye out for anyone handing in letters for you."

Tenzin returned the smile, forcing it appropriately resigned. "Please do. I'm sorry to have taken up your time."

He left them to their work, making his way back to his office and tamping down nausea. Someone in Republic City  _ knew _ . Someone angry and entirely anonymous. He paused at the apex of the gallery, glancing at Tarrlok's door, closed once more.

_ Kill. _

_ Deviant. _

_ Stay away from him. _

Tenzin's hands tightened on the gallery railing before he turned away to his own office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this was a noir story, Yun-Lee would be a cynical secretary names Dolores and have purple hair.


	14. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin gets an unwelcome visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo. Hell of a week, huh?
> 
> Anyway, DoubtingRabbit is the real MVP, beta-ing despite very understandably fretting, and I'm forever grateful.

"And of course," said Tarrlok, winding up the meeting, "we welcome home Councilman Tenzin from the South Pole."

The rest of the Council murmured in agreement, and Tenzin smiled awkwardly. "Thank you all."

"How was your trip?" Nakada asked, clearly more because he felt he had to than any real interest.

"Oh, excellent. Everyone was as polite as always, and the weather-- crisp and clear, very, uh..." Tenzin floundered, already running out of ways to praise a pile of snow and ice.

"And how was the Avatar?" Zirsa cut in, saving him.

"Oh!" Tenzin exclaimed, unable to hide a fond smile. "She's doing wonderfully. Just recently passed her firebending exams!"

"That's so lovely," Zirsa said, winding up for another one of her rambles. "And only at seventeen! It's a delight to have so precocious an Avatar, and right on the heels of a brilliant one like your father, Tenzin; we couldn't be more blessed!"

He thought that if Zirsa cared that Tenzin's 'brilliant father' had struck down her nation's ambitions, she didn't show it. He chided himself for being ungracious and gave her a smile.

Zirsa continued, "I, for one, cannot wait to see her fully realised--"

"Yes, she's supposed to study airbending now, correct?" Tarrlok asked sharply.

"Uh, yes, that is-- yes," Tenzin said.

"Weren't you supposed to relocate to the South Pole to teach her?" Tarrlok continued in his line of questioning with narrow eyes.

"That is correct, Chairman," Tenzin said carefully while he tried not to squirm. "But, given the situation in Republic City, I decided my place was here."

"Telegrams exist," Tarrlok informed him. "I should think your place would be by the Avatar's side, especially given the 'situation'."

Tenzin blinked at him, hesitating for a long moment before venturing, "I was referring to the Equalists."

"So was I," Tarrlok said. "If the Avatar is to help us with these kinds of 'situations', she needs to be fully realised." He raised a brow at Tenzin. "Why, what did you think I meant, Councilman?"

"I-- I wasn't sure," Tenzin rallied. "Hence my confusion."

"I for one am glad to have Tenzin's experience to help us," Guan Ting said. "As great a boon as a fully realised Avatar would be, she is still just a teenage girl. What help could she really offer in this situation, Chairman Tarrlok?"

"The Avatar is in a unique diplomatic position; her very existence is helpful!" Nakada said, sharply raising the tensions in the conversation.

"There's no need to get defensive out of whatever sense of national pride you're feeling," Guan Ting drawled, settling back in his seat.

Nakada readied himself to argue, but he was superseded by Tarrlok.

"The Avatar's diplomatic position doesn't matter here," he said. "What matters is that Councilman Tenzin had made a previous agreement on which he is now reneging, and he is using this Council as an excuse."

"It's not an excuse!" Tenzin said, rising to the bait despite himself.

"I think," said Zirsa with a soft, but very smug smirk, "that Tarrlok is just trying to get rid of Tenzin for a while. You two really need to learn to get along."

Tarrlok's hand tightened on the gavel, but his pale glare never left Tenzin.

Tenzin glared right back at him and said, very carefully, "I agree, Councilwoman. Unfortunately for the Chairman, I'm not going anywhere just yet."

"Suit yourself," Tarrlok said, his voice freezing. "It's your reputation, not mine."

But for that final dig, and the chilly knot of fear and anger in Tenzin's belly, the rest of the meeting passed without incident.

Only after, as they broke apart, did Tenzin furiously trail his lover and spat, "Chairman, a word?"

Tarrlok, already halfway out the door for his office, turned on his heel and tossed his head towards an alcove; private, but visible to everyone. And, despite himself, Tenzin glanced around for a hidden camera as he joined Tarrlok.

"What?" demanded the waterbender, his voice still glacial.

"What was that about?" Tenzin asked.

"You weren't supposed to come back from the South Pole at all," Tarrlok said, crossing his arms. "You were supposed to  _ stay _ with the Avatar."

"Yes, that was the original plan," said Tenzin, "but with the riots and the Equalists stepping up their activity-- Do you want me gone that bad?" He tried not to sound hurt and failed.

Tarrlok made a frustrated noise strained through gritted teeth. "Someone's threatened you, Tenzin! Why do you always have to be so dense?!"

"I'm a representative! I have a duty to the city!" Tenzin insisted. "I just thought that, right now, my place should be here."

"Right now, you should be on the South Pole!" Tarrlok snapped. "Right now, it's safer for you to be  _ out _ of the city!"

There was a strange edge to his voice. Tenzin frowned at him, considering.

"Something happened while I was away," he said.

Tarrlok huffed, casting a glance out towards the gallery. He looked nervous. Fear; that edge had been fear.

"Tarrlok, what happened?"

"I got my own envelope," Tarrlok said.

Cold fear ran down Tenzin's spine. "More photos."

"No, no, it was--" Tarrlok pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was an actual letter. Just complete rambling nonsense. Definitely the same person."

"Can I see it?" Tenzin asked.

"No, I burned it, same as the photos," said Tarrlok, repressing a fidget. "You wouldn't have gotten anything out of it. Cheap paper, cheap envelope, cheap wax, all the same as before."

Tenzin bit back his frustration. "What did it say?"

All he got was a shrug and a breezy, "Calling you a deviant, saying they'd expose us for my own sake. That…” Tarrlok faltered for a moment. “That they were willing to be cruel to be kind."

"That's no worse than the photos--" Tenzin started.

"You're such an idiot," Tarrlok cut him off. "Don't you understand? They're willing to kill you, Tenzin. That's the cruel part. They're willing to kill you to-- to 'save' me."

The cold knot of fear in Tenzin's gut spread up his spine, a chill shaking him from top to bottom. "Oh."

Tarrlok threw another look out at the milling people.

"Reconsider. Go back South. We can handle the Equalists without you, and as for this psychopath, I'll handle it. I'll find them."

"I don't--" Tenzin had begun when an aide skidded to an audible halt outside the alcove.

"Councilman Tenzin!" she gasped, regaining her feet, but not her breath. "Sir! Just got word! From your contact! At police HQ!"

Tenzin blinked, trying to follow her staccato gasping. "About what?"

"The Avatar's been arrested, sir!"

Tarrlok made a choked noise, but Tenzin could only stare blankly at the aide.

"Wh-what? Been arrested where?"

"Downtown, sir, she was causing trouble and she's at the HQ right now!"

"No," Tenzin said. "No, the Avatar's at the South Pole."

The aide threw up her hands, swallowing down gulps of air. "Well, I dunno what to tell you, sir! A girl who bends three elements busted up a street to throw at some triads and got herself booked!"

"Oh, no," Tenzin groaned, hand going to the bridge of his nose. Of course. Of course she'd sneak into Republic City, and of course she'd start trouble immediately. She had no idea how the world outside her compound worked.

"Thank you," he told the aide, "I'll handle it."

She did a harried little half-bow and ran off again.

"Feisty," Tarrlok said, voice dry. "Off to the station, are you?"

"Yeah, I-- I need to get her out," said Tenzin, rubbing his head tiredly. "Call up the White Lotus; they must be in a frenzy if she snuck out. They can take her back South."

Tarrlok nodded once, thoughtful. "Yes," he said, "and you should go with her. And stay there."

"Tarrlok--" Tenzin said, but the waterbender had already left the alcove, striding away.

The trip to Police HQ was a fast one, and the autumn air was crisp and dry, but it did nothing to soothe Tenzin's nerves. By the time he landed on the wide entrance step, the anger that had only been a simmer - at Tarrlok's behaviour, at Korra's presence, at the lunatic threatening him - had flared, and when he snapped for directions at the desk, he was pointed towards the interrogation cells without question.

The door slid open and Tenzin was greeted with the sight of an equally pissed off Lin Beifong (though she was worse at hiding it than he was) and a defiant Avatar chained by her wrists to the interrogation table.

"Heeeyy, Tenzin," Korra wheedled when she caught sight of him, trying for a small grin. "'sup! Was coming to see you, but uh, shit got wild. I got side-tracked."

Tenzin very carefully tamped down his temper, forced on a professional smile and entirely ignored Korra.

"Lin, you look radiant as ever."

"Cut the bullshit, Tenzin," said Lin. "Why's the Avatar here? Moreover, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to go down South yourself?"

Apparently everyone wanted him out of the city.

"Ah, yes, well," Tenzin said, "there's been a delay. However, the  _ Avatar _ ," and he levelled a glare at Korra that seemed to quell her not at all, "will be heading back there immediately, where she will  _ stay put _ and  _ wait _ ."

"Oh, come the fuck on!" Korra protested.

"Listen, Lin," Tenzin said, undaunted, "are those cuffs really necessary? Is any of this? Whatever trouble she caused, I'll take full responsibility, pay whatever bills need to be paid, and maybe we can just..." He shrugged hopefully. "... pretend this never happened?"

Lin stared at him flatly for a long, uncomfortable moment. Then, finally, "Better pull out your wallet. D'you even know what she did?"

"Caused property damage?" Tenzin offered.

"Oh, yeah, she did," said Lin with a serene nod. "Also she started a fight - that's three counts of aggravated assault--"

"Hey, they fucking started it!" Korra yelled.

"--evaded arrest - violently, I might add - and, ah, yes. She also verbally harassed an Equalist protester in the park."

"That guy's a fucking twat!"

Tenzin breathed deeply. "Look, Lin, as a favour--"

"Oh, I'm already doing her a favour by not bringing up unlicensed handling of a wild animal," Lin said.

Tenzin blinked.

"Wh-- that's her spirit guide!"

"It's a fucking polar bear-dog, Tenzin," said Lin.

“I have complete control over Naga, you bitch!” Korra spat.

“Korra!” Tenzin said, cutting her short. Then, to Lin, “As a favour to  _ me _ , then.”

Lin looked like she either wanted to laugh in his face or punch him, but she settled for, "Excuse me?"

"When the rest of the Council were considering cutting the police budget," Tenzin began, and Lin made a disgusted noise.

"Oh, fine," she snapped. She waved a hand, and the cuffs around Korra's wrists fell open. "Get your slimy politics out of my building and get  _ her _ out of my city."

"It's always a pleasure, Lin," said Tenzin, edging around her. "Korra, let's go. Now!"

"Fine, yeah, good, okay!" Korra said, bouncing to her feet and following him out.

They walked in silence deeper into the police headquarters, the shuffling of Korra's boots growing more petulant on the tile floors with each step. It was only when Tenzin turned down a narrow hall that she spoke again.

"Uhh, where're we goin'?"

"Animal control," Tenzin said, tone as short as his temper. "I'm assuming that's where they put Naga."

"Right, yeah, makes sense," Korra conceded.

Again, they walked in silence, with Tenzin feeling rather like a saffron-dressed thundercloud, confusion and hurt and frustration roiling in his depths like building lightning.

"Are you angry with me?" Korra asked.

Tenzin stopped short and half-turned on her with a withering glare.

"Okay, you're angry with me," Korra said.

"No, I'm n--  _ Yes _ . Yes, I am angry with you," Tenzin snapped, starting off again. "You couldn't have picked a worse time for this, Korra!"

"Fuck, Tenzin, sorry, but I wanna learn!" she said at his back, and she almost did sound contrite.

"And you will!" Tenzin stopped by a door - thick and wooden with the words 'Animal Control' severely carved into the surface - and turned to her again. "There's no rush!"

Korra looked at the floor and muttered, "That's not what Master Pottu says."

"Master Pottu is a complete--" Tenzin stopped himself and cleared his throat before trying for something more diplomatic. "Master Pottu is not always right."

He pushed through the door, Korra trailing along behind him. The room smelled somehow worse than the bison bathing stable back on Air Temple Island, but the only animal visible was a platypus bear sitting by its owner.

"Can I help you, Councilman?" asked a thoroughly bored police clerk with cat hair all over his uniform.

"The Avatar's here to pick up her polar bear-dog, please," replied Tenzin crisply.

The clerk eyed Korra for a skeptical second before sliding a clipboard across the counter.

"Sign this, please, miss. I'll get your animal for you."

"Can I borrow the phone?" Tenzin called after the man's retreating back and got a bored wave of permission.

"Who're you calling?" Korra asked as she scribbled something that might, with a squint, read as 'Avatar Korra' on the line.

Tenzin didn't answer her, instead picking up the handset.

"Police switchboard," said a tight voice.

"Do you make international calls?" Tenzin asked.

"Aw, no, Tenzin...!" whined Korra.

"Yessir," said the operator. "Where to?"

"The South Pole, please."

"Which division?"

Tenzin almost laughed. "There's just the one."

"Yessir," said the operator. "Stand by."

"Tenzin, c'mon, don't be a fuckin' narc," Korra said, tugging at his cape. "Okay, so I shouldn't have come, but now that I'm here-- don't send me back, Tenzin, they all fucking suck!"

"South Pole switchboard," said an entirely too chipper voice in his ear.

"The White Lotus compound, please," Tenzin said, pulling his cape free of the Avatar's grip.

"Tenzin!"

"This is for your own good, Korra," Tenzin said, only belatedly realising how snotty he sounded.

The telephone clicked and a woman answered, "Hello?" Then, realising she'd forgotten, she added, "White Lotus, South Pole department here."

"Yes, hello," Tenzin said, pausing to feel a curious lurch in his chest at the way Korra's face fell. He pushed it down and continued, "This is Tenzin from Republic City. I assume you're missing an Avatar."

There was a long pause and then a tinny sigh. "She followed you there, didn't she." It wasn't really a question. "I'll contact our Hei Bei base; a ship should arrive for her before nightfall."

"Thank you," said Tenzin. "She'll be on Air Temple Island."

Korra made a dramatic gesture as Tenzin and the guard exchanged polite farewells and hung up. "Tenzin, please, please, please, don't send me back home," she begged, hands folded in supplication.

"Both I and Master Pottu were very clear on this," Tenzin said. "I don't know what got into your head, young lady."

"Your mom!" said Korra, and Tenzin blinked, confusion and offense warring in him, but the Avatar continued before he got the chance. "Katara said that my destiny is here, in Republic City!"

"Don't bring my mother into this!" Tenzin snapped.

"This isn't about your mom!" Korra snapped right back. "It's about that I got a fuckin' job to do, and I'm not learning that job while being stuck in the back of fucking beyond, down on the South Pole! I'm the Avatar, so let me be the fucking Avatar!"

The old lady with the platypus bear squinted at them disapprovingly.

Korra followed Tenzin's glance and sighed, lowering her voice. "Look, Tenzin," she said, "I saw a lot of the city today, and I get it; shit's fucked. I get why you gotta stay here. There're, like, fuckin' gangsters and assholes standing around in parks yelling, there's a lot to fix. I can help with that."

"Korra," Tenzin sighed.

A door opened, and the clerk returned with Naga in tow, the massive beast towering over him and slobbering into his hair. At the sight of Korra, she began wagging her tail violently, knocking several sheafs of paper off the counter and threatening to topple a file cabinet.

The clerk didn't even look at the mess. "This your polar bear-dog, miss?"

Korra lit up like a solstice celebration. "Fuck, yeah, it is! Here, girl!"

Naga promptly knocked over the clerk, bounding to headbutt Korra square in the stomach. They rolled into a ball of bear-dog and girl in their exuberant greeting. Tenzin slid the clipboard a fussy few inches inwards on the counter and made to leave. As he did, he caught the low murmur from Korra to Naga.

"M'sorry for draggin' you all this way for nothing, girl..."

Tenzin's step faltered, but he pretended he hadn't heard.

"Come along now, Korra," he said brusquely and pretended that guilt and doubt wasn't gnawing at him.

By the time Naga had been walked and they made it to the ferry, he no longer could. Every bit closer they got to Air Temple Island, the further Korra slumped in on herself, all that boisterous energy curdling and diminishing.

_ It's a terrible idea _ , he found himself thinking as the ferry puttered by Memorial Island, the floodlights slowly brightening in the dusk.  _ Between the triads and the Equalists, the city's a powderkeg, and Korra is-- _

Korra was slumped over the railing at the rear of the ferry, watching the lights of Republic City glitter in the distance like some mystical promised realm beyond her reach. And of course she was. 

This was her first taste of freedom, and here Tenzin was, snatching it away.

Air Temple Island drifted into view, and already a massive ship - its bow emblazoned with a many-petaled white flower - was docking. Ready to carry Korra back to her prison.

Tenzin looked at Korra again, the girl he'd known from toddlerhood, and wondered if he could do that to her.

If he could lock her away a second time.

Only two days later, Tenzin flanked Korra on one side - and Lin on her other - as she stood in front of City Hall, facing a surging crowd.

The members of the public before them came from all walks; from reporters, to the devout seeking their Avatar, to those who were simply curious, all milling around, jostling for a better view. Tenzin tried not to be paranoid as he eyed the crowd, but he couldn't help trying to see if any of those several dozen flashing cameras were turned on him.

"Yeah, uh, hello," Korra said into the array of microphones in front of her. They howled, and she jerked back in surprise.

"Not so close!" called a sound-tech from the front of the crowd.

Korra fidgeted, and several cameras flashed. "Hello," she said again, shielding her eyes. "I'm Korra. I'm your new Avatar!"

The back of the crowd cheered. The front, where the reporters had gathered, pressed closer like hungry wolves with the scent of blood in their nostrils.

"Have you moved to Republic City permanently?" cried one above the clamor.

"Were you trying to send a message to the triads?" yelled another.

Two more spoke at the same time, one asking about the Equalists, the other about Lin. Korra glanced back over her shoulder, eyes wide, at Tenzin. He mouthed 'speech' at her. She blinked and looked down at the podium and the paper that lay there.

"Right. Speech," she murmured. The microphones faithfully picked it up, setting off some scattered laughter in the crowd.

Tenzin could see Korra's ears turn red. Had Pottu neglected to teach her public speaking? Surely not.

"Uh, yeah, I am definitely here to stay, but honestly I-- I don't have a fu-- I don't exactly have a plan yet," Korra stammered. Another harsh camera flash, and Tenzin was gratified to see that she was flinching less and less. "See," Korra continued, "I'm still in training, but-- look, all the f-- all I know is that Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world, and," she took a deep breath, drawing on what Tenzin assumed and hoped were the oratory lessons Pottu had forced on her as she projected her voice, "I believe we can make his dream a reality!"

She raised her arm to the crowd of journalists, trying for welcoming and coming off as vaguely threatening.

"I look forward to serving you!"

The crowd cheered, and Lin strolled across behind Korra to Tenzin’s side. Half smug, half angry, she said, "They're gonna eat her alive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET. KORRA. SAY. FUCK. 20. 20.


	15. The Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin is faced with a revolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the sex scene in this chapter was written yesterday evening, and I was super stressed about it, because I was tired and I just wanted to go to bed, but I really wanted to finish the chapter first. Turns out that, when I'm stressed, I fuck up English grammar in distinctly Danish ways, and I think that's _hilarious_.
> 
> Thank you to DoubtingRabbit for ironing out those particular wrinkles, or else you'd all be astounded at my wanton cruelty to nouns, verbs and the order they go in.

The door to the dining room slid open too fast, too loudly, and Tenzin and Pema both looked up from setting the table. Korra stood there, an unfamiliar hat on her head, her eyes wide and her dark skin ashen.

"There you are," said Pema. "I was wondering if you'd make it home in time for--"

"I need to talk to Tenzin, right the fuck now," Korra cut her off, her voice wobbling and shrill.

"Language, please, Korra," Tenzin said, gesturing at Jinora balancing a large bowl of rice in her thin arms.

"Okay, yeah, sorry," Korra said, her voice breaking. " _ Now _ , Tenzin!"

Tenzin frowned and, giving Pema an apologetic look, he followed the Avatar out into the hallway.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm cool," Korra babbled, clearly neither fine nor cool as she paced worriedly, eyes flitting between Tenzin, the hallway and the still open door. "So, uh, I went to an Equalist rally."

Tenzin's eyebrows shot up. "You did  _ what? _ Korra, why would you--"

"They took Bolin, okay?!"

"Who on earth is Bolin?" Tenzin demanded.

Korra groaned and buried her face in her hands for a moment. "One of the guys I pro-bend with, Tenzin, fuck! It's not the point!"

Tenzin grabbed her shoulders. "Korra. Take a deep breath. Hold it. Exhale."

The Avatar did as instructed, and after a few repetitions, Tenzin was gratified to see some of the colour return to her cheeks.

"Now," he said, "what are you trying to tell me?"

"Me n' Mako - the other pro-bending guy - we went to this rally, and Amon showed up to talk, right?" Korra said, and again her voice trembled. "All this fuckin' bullshit about benders ruling the world and non-benders bein' held down, I don't fucking know. And then they brought in Lightningbolt Zolt--"

"Amon and Zolt are allies?" Tenzin interrupted. That'd be trouble; the Equalists and the Triple Threats had been clashing for years, but if they’d made peace...

"No!" Korra sputtered. "As a prisoner, Tenzin! He was tied up and shit! But-but then they untied him, and he attacked Amon, and--" Her eyes grew wide and wet, and again she looked around as if expecting an attack.

"Did he kill Amon?" Tenzin prodded gently.

Korra shook her head sharply, hands coming up to clutch into her hair. "No. Tenzin, he-- Amon  _ took Zolt's bending _ ."

Tenzin’s stomach felt suddenly like a ball of ice, and even after soothing the Avatar and sending her off to supper, it didn’t abate.

The next day, the Council chamber had fallen into a deep silence once Tenzin had relayed Korra's experience - minus the swearing - and Nakada's voice cracked through it too loudly.

"That's impossible," he said.

"I am only telling you what she told me," Tenzin said.

"But," said Zirsa, "she's the only one who can do that. The Avatar is the only one who can-- isn't she? Isn't that how it works?"

The Council as a whole were clearly disturbed to their cores at the idea of a rogue criminal with that power. Tenzin was, too, but he had the good grace to hide it.

"Is she absolutely sure of what she saw?" Guan Ting asked, leaning towards Tenzin.

"If she says she saw Amon take someone's bending," Tenzin said, "then I believe her. She's a very bright young woman, and not given to fantasies and lies."

"Yes, but she's seventeen and in a new city," Guan Ting persisted. "She grew up on the South Pole, right? She could be confused or--"

"I think the Avatar would know debending if she saw it," Tarrlok said. He was twirling the gavel between his fingers, a deep crease between his eyebrows.

"She claims the victim was Lightningbolt Zolt," Zirsa said, sitting up straight and smiling with newfound hope. "Well, he's hardly an unknown figure! If he lost his bending, it should be all over--"

"I reached out to my contacts in the private hospitals," Tenzin said. That those private hospitals were triad-run was an open secret, but best to remain discrete. "Lightningbolt Zolt was admitted to one late last night. They couldn't tell me what for, but they did know the entire waterbending staff was working in his room."

Nakada made a sickly sound, slumped in his chair. The gavel tumbled to the table, and Tenzin looked over in time to see Tarrlok's hands shake before the waterbender clenched them together tightly.

"Well," said Tarrlok, "then we have to stop him."

"But-- blessed by the spirits?" Nakada asked. "Isn't that what the Avatar said his claim was?"

"Yes," said Tenzin.

"What's your point?" Tarrlok demanded of his fellow Watertribesman. "That if the spirits granted him this power - which is a very questionable claim - that we should just let it happen? Let this lunatic wipe out bending?"

"Well, what do you propose?" Guan Ting asked, closing in on despair in tone.

Tarrlok unfolded his hands, stilled now, and said, "There is a madman running around our beloved city, threatening to tear it apart. We need to create a task force whose sole mission is to find Amon and bring him to justice."

Really? This again. Tenzin nearly sputtered out a disbelieving laugh, but forced it back. "Absolutely not," he said instead. "A move that aggressive would only further divide benders and nonbenders. We'd be playing right into his hands!"

"Actually, I’m inclined to agree with Tarrlok," Zirsa said. Some of the fearful lines in her face smoothing out as she continued, "but who would even head up such a task force?"

Tarrlok gave Tenzin a smug look and stood.

"It would be my honor and privilege to accept such a duty," he said and bowed, so casual that Tenzin could almost forgive the Council for forgetting how often Tarrlok had tried this exact ploy.

Almost.

As he looked around, Tenzin realised to his frustration that they had forgotten. Nakada was even nodding along.

"Really?" Tenzin spat at Tarrlok. Then to the others, “You’re all falling for this?”

The rest of the Council turned to look at Tarrlok, and Nakada had the good sense to stop nodding before Tenzin slapped him.

"All I'm trying to do is help," Tarrlok said, innocent and so insincere that it dripped off him. He returned to addressing the others. "There’s a precedent for taking drastic action against a drastic threat. Think back, forty-two years ago, Republic City was threatened by another dangerous man." His voice filled with loathing, gaining that edge that Tenzin thought he had grown too experienced to reveal, "Yakone."

"You--" Tenzin started, but Tarrlok turned on him, pointing an accusing finger.

"Your father wasn't afraid to deal with him head-on!"

"This is a completely different situation!" Tenzin sputtered, shoving himself to his feet, the chair clattering to the floor behind him. "And don’t you dare bring my father into this!"

"Amon is not going to stop with the triads," Tarrlok spat at him. Then, coldly dismissing Tenzin, he continued to the others, "Eventually, he will come for all benders. Our friends, our families. Vote for this task force and I will stop Amon before it's too late! All in favor?"

One by one, all but Tenzin raised their hands, though Guan Ting at least sent him an apologetic look first.

"Proposal passes," Tarrlok said, hitting the gavel and sending Tenzin a smirk so infuriating that Tenzin marveled at his own strength in not sending him flying.

As the meeting broke up, Tenzin followed Tarrlok, painfully aware that he had to resemble a red and orange storm cloud, and he only barely refrained from grabbing the waterbender by his coat and shaking him till his teeth rattled.

“Are you proud of yourself?!” he demanded instead.

“Immensely,” said Tarrlok. Then, to his waiting aide, “Find me five requisition forms thirty-two and one order sixty-six.”

“Yessir,” said the aide and vanished down the hallway.

“You absolute-- you backstabbing, fear-mongering--” Tenzin sputtered. "Is this all because I didn't leave for the South Pole?!"

Tarrlok almost looked insulted when he spared Tenzin a glance. "Don't flatter yourself. And I don't have time for this right now, Councilman; I have a task force to build."

He turned to leave, but hesitated, his shoulders bunching up slightly. Despite himself, Tenzin found himself focused on the gentle sway of Tarrlok's three braids as the waterbender deliberated speaking again.

"What?" Tenzin demanded. "Have you yet another low blow regarding my father?"

Tarrlok glanced back at him, a flash of pale blue.

"Why don't you drop by my place later?" he asked, voice low. "We can discuss it there."

A chill, part fear, part desire, crept up Tenzin's spine, and he looked around quickly. "Tarrlok--"

"Use the roof entrance," Tarrlok murmured, barely audible over the din, "I'll leave it unlocked for you." 

Then he vanished down the hallway.

Tenzin knew, of course, that there’d be no talking. That he wouldn’t go to Tarrlok’s apartment for anything reasonable or, indeed, acceptable, and that it was too dangerous to reasonably consider. But, aside from waiting for nightfall as his one allowance to the threat hanging over his head, Tenzin also knew he'd do as Tarrlok suggested.

The wind was cold and the air wet, especially as high as Tenzin soared above the city to be out of the reach of the street lights. Thankfully it wasn't a long flight, and the full moon was hidden in the overcast sky. The lazy half-curve of Tarrlok's apartment building appeared beneath him, between wisps of low clouds, and silently Tenzin dove; a quick and slippery shadow in the dark, soaring easily in between the stacks and chimneys on the building's eastern end, right above Tarrlok's home.

Tenzin clicked his glider shut and lingered in the shadows, heart pounding in his ears. He could hear nothing but distant traffic, and see no movement but a cat meandering away, too proud to run at his appearance.

Finally reassured that no one was watching him, Tenzin slipped through the roof entrance - unlocked, as promised - and down one floor. Tarrlok was already waiting for him at the door.

"I still don't know why I--" Tenzin said irritably, but then Tarrlok's hands curled in his damp clothes and Tarrlok's lips crashed onto his own, and the door slammed shut behind him.

Tenzin's arms wound around the waterbender's wiry waist, held him close, let the saltwater flavor of the kiss last.

"This is a change of pace," Tenzin gasped when he was finally allowed to come up for air.

"Not in the slightest," said Tarrlok, and Tenzin was gratified to hear a rough edge to his voice. Tarrlok's dark, slender fingers were already peeling away layers of linen. "I'm still absolutely astounded at what a massive idiot you are. You shouldn't even be here."

Tenzin tried to pull away, irritated. "You invited me!"

"I meant here, in the city," Tarrlok clarified.

And then, before Tenzin could reply, he dropped to his knees, wrenched the airbender's trousers open and took firm hold of his cock, and whatever he could have said was lost in a choked gasp, and then a soft sigh as Tarrlok ran his tongue roughly over the still soft shaft.

It occurred to Tenzin, after a blissful moment, that enticing as Tarrlok was on his knees in the middle of his sitting room, it was very exposed, and he looked around in a panic. Every shade had been lowered, thick navy-blue velvet blocking out the dim evening. Tarrlok had prepared diligently. The thought sent a little thrill through Tenzin, mingling oddly with the fear and the sting of defeat both, and before he realised it, he'd curled his hand hard into Tarrlok's coiffed hair.

Tarrlok moaned, a low and pleasant rumble around Tenzin's dick.

"How can you always do this?" Tenzin breathed, more to himself than anyone else, all his frustration draining with the wet heat of Tarrlok's mouth.

"Hm?" Tarrlok hummed, muffled and distracted.

"How can you always  _ do  _ this to me?"

Tarrlok settled back, licking his lips, giving Tenzin a shrewd look. In the low, yellow light of the apartment, his pale eyes took on the sheen of frost-covered gold.

"Flattery won't get me to drop my task force," he said.

The frustration welled back up again and Tenzin dragged him back to his feet by the high collar of his shirt. Tarrlok allowed it, looking mildly amused, even through the hard kiss Tenzin pressed to his lips.

Nimble fingers picked at his clothes, and Tenzin half-mindedly returned the favour, caught in the taste of cooled tea on Tarrlok's lips. So lost in it, he hardly realized they were making their way somewhere, Tarrlok guiding each stumbling step, even as he picked open Tenzin's robes.  _ The bedroom _ , muscle memory told Tenzin.

A stoppered bottle of oil was pushed into his hand, and he blinked as Tarrlok pulled away to shuck the last of his clothes, a challenge in his eyes.

Tenzin took it, coated his fingers in oil and pulled the waterbender close again. He should have been gentler than he was, Tenzin chided himself even as he pushed two slick fingers roughly into Tarrlok, but the noise it earned him - a choked moan, half gasped - made the guilt a distant one.

"Yes," Tarrlok hissed low and fierce. Tenzin felt his cock twitch at the heat tightening around his fingers, at the desperation in Tarrlok's voice.

"How could I do this if I was on the South Pole?" Tenzin asked, unable to help himself, as he thrust his fingers into Tarrlok.

"How can you do this if you're dead?" Tarrlok shot back, but he didn't stop until the cooler air of his bedroom hit Tenzin's skin as the last of his robes hit the floor.

Slim fingers wrapped around Tenzin's dick, pulling at him, and he moaned against Tarrlok's cheek, pressing a thigh against the waterbender's sex even as he pressed another finger into his ass.

Tarrlok made another noise, raw and throaty, his hips jerking. His lips found Tenzin's again, the kiss sloppy and breathy. Green tea with mint, Tenzin realised dimly. Tarrlok's favourite blend. He moaned into the kiss, managing a stilted thrust into Tarrlok's hand, and suddenly both hand and kiss was gone.

He blinked at his lover, confused.

"Get on the bed," Tarrlok said, voice very intent.

Tenzin hesitated.

"Are you sure?" he finally asked. "I don't think I've prepared you--"

"Get on. The fucking. Bed," said Tarrlok.

The ferocity in Tarrlok's voice was almost as arousing as the noises he'd made before and how could Tenzin argue with that?

He let the waterbender turn them and push him back on the bed, his fingers slipping from Tarrlok's hole almost without him realising, looking up at the slender, backlit silhouette in front of him.

Tarrlok followed him onto the bed, straddling him, the lights in the living room painting a glowing halo around him. He reached down, grabbed Tenzin's cock - his thumb drawing small, impatient circles on the crown, making a tremble run through Tenzin's skin - and held it still as he slid onto it with a sharp gasp.

Tenzin bit his lip, stayed silent, watching him, feeling the tight heat slowly sliding down his dick.

Slim hands settled on his chest, and Tarrlok started rocking his hips. His breath came shallow, but quiet, as he adjusted to Tenzin's girth, and that thought made Tenzin jolt upwards greedily. 

Tarrlok choked and said, voice trembling, "Stay still!"

"Move faster," Tenzin retorted, his own hands finding Tarrlok's hips.

He expected another snide comment, but instead Tarrlok did as asked for once, his breath coming faster as he rode Tenzin. The ambient lights lit up strands of his hair, the curve of his ear, the line of his cheekbone, and Tenzin was reminded of that first night, of Tarrlok like a gold-lit vision in the Winter Solstice pavilion.

"Beautiful," he breathed, entirely to himself.

Tarrlok either didn't hear him or didn't care, his stilted rocking turning smooth and easy, his ass tightening around the hilt of Tenzin's cock. He moved like the tide, lean muscles tensing and stretching, catching the light faintly.

Tenzin slid a hand, pretending it wasn't shaking, down to grab Tarrlok's prick and let the velvety shaft slide against his palm with each rocking thrust Tarrlok performed. He thought he caught the brief glint of a smile.

For a long moment, he let himself be lost in it all. Lost in Tarrlok rolling above him like the sea, his slick hole taking in Tenzin's sex again and again with the same steady certainty as lapping waves. Tarrlok's breath, soft and gasping, just edging on a moan each time he settled fully back onto Tenzin. Tarrlok's cock, warm and hard, wetness trickling from the slit onto Tenzin's fingers.

Tenzin reached up, skimming through along that warmly haloed silhouette, and wove his hand in at the base of Tarrlok's three braids, at the nape of his neck - the skin hot and damp - and pulled the waterbender down for a kiss, half expecting resistance that didn't come. Instead Tarrlok's fingers trailed the line of Tenzin's jaw, beneath the line of his beard, and moaned softly against his lips.

"Beautiful," Tenzin breathed again.

This time Tarrlok laughed, a puff of breath, before pulling away again. Tenzin's hand stayed where it was, tangled in sweaty hair, and Tarrlok made no move to dislodge it, his head falling back as straightened.

"You can pull, if you want," he murmured, nearly lost in the silence of the bedroom.

Tenzin swallowed and obeyed, his fingers curling. Tarrlok's head jerked back.

"Yes," gasped Tarrlok, and his movements gained in urgency, his ass hitting Tenzin's thighs with low, but audible pats.

Tenzin gasped, wordless, and forced himself still but for his hands.

Tarrlok was an arch of dim gold and faint lines of light, curving over him, and his ass was a tight seal around his dick, pulsing and needy. Tenzin gritted his teeth, fighting off the climax already uncurling at the base of his spine.

Somehow Tarrlok could tell, because of course he could, and he chuckled low and throaty.

"Go on," he said, his head still thrown back. Light traced the line of his neck, the tendons, the adam's apple.

"But--" Tenzin gasped.

Tarrlok shifted, tightened around him, rolled his hips in a maddening grind. " _ Go on _ ."

The breath was knocked out of Tenzin, and his hips jerked upwards sharply, driving a yelp from the waterbender. Trembling, Tenzin grabbed Tarrlok's thigh, pulling out just in time to come over his ass and the small of his back, a groan catching hard in his throat and coming out a croak.

He slumped back, only realising after a dazed moment that Tarrlok was kissing him again, lingering and needy. Right, of course. He wasn't yet finished.

Tenzin gasped down a breath, smelling the mint on Tarrlok's lips, and replaced his cock with his fingers, thrusting them into Tarrlok in time with the hand on Tarrlok's cock.

"Like that," whimpered Tarrlok against the corner of his mouth, easily falling into the rhythm he was setting.

Tenzin kissed him properly again, swallowing each gasp, pressing his tongue between wet lips. Tarrlok sucked at it, wanton, his hands clenching onto Tenzin's shoulders like a vise.

Tenzin pushed his fingers as deep as he could, and Tarrlok choked and jolted. Again, and Tenzin felt come spurt across his knuckles and his stomach, but Tarrlok made no move to stop, still riding his fingers.

Finally, a tremble ran through the waterbender, and he slumped onto Tenzin, breaking the kiss with a low sigh. This close, Tenzin could see his eyes, half-lidded and gleaming as if with their own light.

Tenzin pulled his fingers out and shifted Tarrlok as gently as he could to slump beside him. There was no real protest, Tarrlok fitting himself to his body, his face pressed into the crook of his shoulder.

They lay there, in the ridiculous plushness of Tarrlok's bed, sweat and seed drying on their skin, catching their breaths. Tenzin found himself staring at the ceiling, at the light cutting a broad path across it. Tarrlok's breath was hot against his skin, but it was slowing.

After another long moment, Tenzin said, "I'm beginning to think you started all of this just so you could seduce me out of killing you for being impossible."

"Oh, I've been caught," Tarrlok murmured, half-asleep, against his neck. "Took you ten years, but you got there in the end."

Tenzin chuckled and pressed a kiss to disheveled chestnut hair. Tarrlok lifted his head and smiled at him.

"Although," he said, "as I recall, you're the one who kissed me. So maybe I should be questioning your ulterior motives in seducing an aide, Councilman."

"Pure madness," Tenzin said, trailing little paths up Tarrlok's still damp back with his fingers. “Especially now.”

“Oh, now you care about the danger,” Tarrlok huffed and settled back down against Tenzin.

They lay there in comfortable silence for a long moment, and Tenzin had to blink hard to keep himself awake. Outside, down in the street, muffled by the heavy shades, mobiles and trams trundled merrily on by.

"How's the Avatar's training coming?" asked Tarrlok, idly, but thoroughly awake.

Tenzin blinked. "Uh," he said, wrestling his mind away from the warm form of his lover and onto his apprentice. "She's-- well, she's struggling with airbending, but that's not unusual. Every Avatar tends to have an element that doesn't come easy for them."

Tarrlok rested his chin on Tenzin's collarbone, brows raised expectantly.

"Airbending is, well, it's a very spiritual practice," Tenzin stammered.

"Oh, I noticed," said Tarrlok with a dirty grin.

"And unfortunately," Tenzin continued, undeterred, "Korra is not a very spiritual person. She needs some time."

Tarrlok hummed, lips pursing in thought. "But she's mastered every other element?"

"Yes," Tenzin said, frowning. "Tarrlok, why do you-- wait. No." He sat up suddenly, pushing the waterbender off, but Tarrlok slid smoothly into a seated position as well. "She's not going on your task force."

"I think you should leave that decision up to her," Tarrlok said with that faux-innocent smile that so infuriated Tenzin, and fooled everyone else. “Since she’s in the city anyway, why shouldn’t the Avatar tend to her duties?”

"It's completely out of the question. She needs to focus on her training and--" Tenzin was cut off by a loud, shrill chiming from the living room. The telephone.

Tarrlok frowned and rolled out of bed with a muttered, "Oh, what the fuck?"

Tenzin sighed and swung his own legs off the bed, picking up his discarded clothes. It was getting late, and perhaps it was for the best that he didn't fall asleep here.

"Tarrlok speaking," he heard from the other room. He had pulled his trousers up and was tying them when Tarrlok's next words, or rather the tone, stopped him short. "He’s what?" Tarrlok demanded, voice sharp.

Tenzin grabbed his robe and went to the door, looking at Tarrlok, slim and naked and deeply shocked. The waterbender reached out a wiry arm, gleaming in the low light, and flicked on the radio.

"--voted to make me public enemy number one," droned a low, hypnotic voice, "proving once again that the bending oppressors of this city, the corrupt hegemony that reigns supreme over this supposed republic, will stop at nothing to crush the revolution."

Tenzin realised, with a cold tremble, who it was that was speaking. Tarrlok was staring at the radio, his face frozen.

"But we cannot be stopped," Amon continued. Even through the radio, his voice seemed to fill the room like a chant, persuasive and mystical. "We grow stronger and more numerous by the day, and - my brothers, my sisters, my brethren - you no longer have to live in fear. The time has come for  _ them _ to know fear."

The voice disappeared in a burst of sudden static, and Tarrlok turned it off too sharply, the button clicking in protest.

"How did that happen?" he snapped, and Tenzin jolted, only belatedly realising that he was speaking into the phone. Tarrlok's frown deepened. "Well, then, get a hold of the police! Tell them to do an investigation!"

Getting home sounded like a better and better idea with each word. Tenzin pulled on his robe, watching the waterbender helplessly.

Tarrlok bit his lip. Listened. Then said, "I'll be right there. See if you can get a hold of the other Councilmembers."

The receiver slammed back into its cradle, and Tarrlok glared down at it.

“How?” Tenzin said, eyes wide. “How could he--”

“I don’t know,” said Tarrlok, breezing past him into the bedroom to gather up his own clothes.

“Those lines are supposed to be secure,” Tenzin said, partly to himself.

“They are,” said Tarrlok, dressing quickly. “So that means either the Equalists have access to far more advanced technology than we thought, or,” he shrugged on his coat, “he has someone working on the inside.”

Tenzin pulled his cape off the chair it hung on, swinging it around his shoulders. Neither option was appealing, but the latter least so. “If he can run infiltration operations,” he started.

“What else has he infiltrated?” Tarrlok finished the thought for him. The waterbender looked grim, even as he expertly smoothed his hair back into something nearly flawless. “You should get home, so they’ll be able to get a hold of you.”

“Right, yes,” muttered Tenzin, grabbing his glider. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

Tarrlok graced him with a brief, humourless smile, and Tenzin made his hurried way back up to the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend this entire damn fic trying to find a way to make a silly Spiderman reference because of Tenzin's VA, and instead I end up making a silly Star Wars reference because of Tarrlok's VA. So it goes.


	16. Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin deals with a frightened Avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit remains the ~~light~~ beta of my life.

“Korra?”

The young Avatar startled, giving Tenzin a wide-eyed look.

“Hm? What?”

“I said dinner is ready. Are you alright?” Tenzin asked. Korra had been sitting in her room, staring out the window, and he was reasonably sure that she hadn’t been meditating.

“Oh, yeah, shit! I’m great,” said Korra, a little too enthusiastically, bouncing to her feet. “Fuckin’ starving, too. There any meat today?”

“No,” said Tenzin. Her smile was strained and her eyes still too wide. He frowned. “Are you sure you’re alright? You’re not feeling sick--”

“Me? I’m healthier’n an armadillo bear,” Korra said, all false bravado.

She strode past him. Tenzin hesitated a moment, then followed her.

Korra had been… off since she had witnessed Amon’s strange abilities, distant and quiet in a way Tenzin had never seen from her before. The exact emotion was difficult to pinpoint; perhaps seeing someone else share a power that had hitherto been unique to her and the Avatar line had rattled her more than he realised.

But Korra was cheerful and excited when she greeted Pema and the kids, ruffling Ikki’s hair as she passed her.

“Oh, wow!” she said, plopping down on her pillow. “Pickled veggies and rice again! Fuckin’ nice!”

“Language, Korra, please,” Pema said with a wince, but it was too late.

“Fuckin’ nice!” echoed Meelo happily.

Tenzin cleared his throat. “I’ll see about getting some sea prunes and seaweed noodles for you,” he said. “Hopefully that’ll make up for the lack of meat.”

“Worth a try, right?” said Korra with an entirely unconvincing smile.

"Hopefully, yes," said Tenzin, adding a genuine smile of his own. Seeing everyone settled, and Meelo no longer happily repeating swears like a monkey bird, he bowed his head and intoned, "We are grateful for this delicious food, for happiness, for compassion, and--"

"I'm not interrupting, am I?"

For half a second, Tenzin was certain he'd imagined Tarrlok's voice, but one look at Pema's face falling into a fearsome scowl told him otherwise.

"Tarrlok?!" he sputtered, turning to the door where, sure enough, the waterbender stood with a perfect, even smile.

Was he mad? Was he absolutely insane? Even with Pema and the children here, for Tarrlok to come to the island, completely out in the open-- fear clasped its cold hands onto Tenzin's spine, and anger that Tarrlok would run this risk in the first place rose in the back of his throat.

"This is my home, Tarrlok," he said, pretending his voice didn’t nearly crack. "We're about to eat dinner!"

"Oh, good!" said Tarrlok, beaming. "Because I am absolutely famished! Airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, am I right?"

"Well, yes, usually," he stammered, "but I really don't think you should be--"

"I eat like a bird, I promise!" Tarrlok said cheerfully, and Tenzin could have strangled him. Then, of course, the waterbender's pale gaze landed on Korra - curiously watching, a bit of pickled carrot halfway to her mouth - and his smile widened.

Tenzin realised, with a sinking feeling, exactly why Tarrlok had taken the risk.

"Ah," Tarrlok breathed, breezing past Tenzin and the still scowling Pema, "you must be the famous Avatar Korra. It is truly an honour." He bowed gallantly and, to Tenzin's eyes, too deeply to be genuine. "I'm Councilman Tarrlok, representative of the Northern Water Tribe."

Korra smiled unsurely and stood, bowing back. "Nice to meet you," she said, polite for once.

"I've been so looking forward to meeting you," Tarrlok smarmed onwards. "And not just me! Ever since you arrived in Republic City, your uncle has been positively pestering me to give him updates, and I'll be happy to tell him that you're healthy and hale."

Korra perked. "My uncle? Chief Unalaq? You talk to him?"

"Well, he is my employer, after all," said Tarrlok, not so humbly. Tenzin only barely kept himself from marching over and dragging Tarrlok out. "He'll be so pleased to hear about you! You  _ are _ healthy, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Korra said, warming up, "I've got it made here. Have you met my cousins?" Her eyes were alight with curiosity, and why wouldn't they be? Tenzin doubted Tonraq had shared much of anything from his past, the few times he’d been allowed access to his daughter.

"I don't think Tarrlok is here to discuss your family, Korra," Tenzin said sharply, tone matching his glare.

"Oh, it's no bother at all," Tarrlok assured them, settling down at the table along with Korra and not sparing Tenzin a glance. "Yes, Avatar Korra, I have in fact met the Prince and Princess. Prodigies both, though obviously not at your level."

"Why do you have three ponytails?" Ikki demanded suddenly. "And how come you smell like a lady? You're weird!" Jinora, who clearly remembered Tarrlok better than Ikki did, elbowed her sister to little avail.

Tenzin knew it was coming, which was the only reason he saw the flicker of pain twist over Tarrlok's features before they smoothed into a grin.

"Well, aren't you  _ precocious _ ," Tarrlok said, then promptly turned his back on Ikki to focus on Korra. "So!" he exclaimed, "I've been reading all about your adventures in the papers. Infiltrating Amon's rally, now that took some real initiative!"

Korra blinked, thrown off by the praise, but smiled anyway.

"Thanks," she said, grateful. Her eyes flicked to Tenzin and then away again. "I think you're the first authority figure who's not having a shit fit about me bein' here."

"Korra, language, please," Pema said, voice strained.

"Shit fit!" repeated Meelo loyally.

Tarrlok ignored Tenzin's family entirely, instead nodding with perfectly acted sympathy. "Oh, I think Republic City is much better off, now that you're arrived," he said, and Korra actually puffed at his words.

"Enough with the flattery, Tarrlok," Tenzin snapped. He knew how to handle Tarrlok; Korra didn't. "What do you want from her?"

"I can't talk to our Avatar?" Tarrlok asked ever so innocently, finally meeting Tenzin’s eyes. "You keep her cooped up here, Tenzin! I couldn't wait forever."

"You do kinda keep me cooped up here," Korra said, a little smug.

"That-- it's for your own-- I let you pro-bend!" Tenzin sputtered.

"It's to help you focus on your studies," Pema said, joining in to save Tenzin from further embarrassment. Tarrlok seemed to entirely miss the glare she sent his way, instead smiling winsomely back.

"I'm so glad you brought that up, Pema, because that's exactly what I'm here to discuss with Korra!"

Korra frowned, leaning away from him slightly. "My studies?"

"How would you like," Tarrlok offered, "some hands-on experience?"

"Tarrlok, no," Tenzin said.

Tarrlok ignored him entirely.

"As you may have heard," he went on, "I'm assembling a task force that will strike at the heart of Amon's so-called revolution, and I want you to join me."

"Really?" asked Korra.

"Tarrlok," said Tenzin, gritted out between his teeth.

Tarrlok continued to ignore him, of course. "I need someone who'll help me attack Amon directly, someone who's fearless in the face of danger. And that someone," he beamed, putting a companionable hand on Korra's shoulder, "is you!"

Tenzin was reminded of why he had found Tarrlok's election campaign so painful.

"Join your task force?" Korra wondered aloud. Her face seemed to shift; the smile turning eager, then fading into a frown, something like confusion flickering across her features, before she finally looked away, carefully blank. "I-- I can't. Sorry."

The room, sans Meelo who was busy hiding pickled zucchini under his rice, stopped and stared at Korra for a moment. She sipped her tea, unaffected. 

Of course, thought Tenzin, Korra was used to being the center of everyone's attention, willing or not.

"I--" Tarrlok said, cleared his throat and began again. "I must admit I'm rather surprised. From what I've heard of you, I would've thought you'd jump at the chance."

"I came to Republic City to finish my training with Tenzin," Korra said, her voice very level; suspiciously so. "Right now I just gotta get this shi--" She glanced at Pema. "--stuff done. Focus on that. Even if it means coopin’ up."

"Which is why this opportunity is perfect for you!" said Tarrlok, the smooth veneer cracking and the eagerness showing through. "You'd get experience while doing your Avatar duty--"

"Korra gave you her answer," Tenzin cut him off, meeting Tarrlok's irritated glare with one of his own, a moment's silent conversation.

_ Are you serious? _ said Tarrlok's frown.

_ Very _ , answered Tenzin's furrowed brow.

"It's time for you to go," Tenzin said out loud, nodding towards the door.

A flicker of anger, quickly hidden, and Tarrlok stood.

"Very well," he said congenially, "but I'm not giving up on you yet, Korra. You'll be hearing from me soon. It's been a pleasure." He bowed, first to her, then to Tenzin and finally, too deeply and with too wide a smile, to Pema, before turning on his heel to leave.

"Buh-bye, ponytail man!" Ikki cried. Then, "Ow!" as Jinora jabbed her again.

Tarrlok barely even broke stride, and when the last flick of his coat was gone, Tenzin dared breathe again. He folded his hands on the table and turned a concerned look to Korra. She was back to eating, avoiding their eyes, chewing mechanically.

"Korra?" 

She blinked at him, mouth full. "Hm?"

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Tenzin.

Korra swallowed a too-large mouthful and grinned at him, her teeth full of rice. "Oh, yeah! Man, this tastes fuckin' great, even without meat, sorry, Pema!"

“Fuckin’ great!” said Meelo enthusiastically to his bowl. Tenzin exchanged a look with Pema, but let it drop.

True to his word, Tarrlok inundated Korra with gift after expensive gift. Tenzin hoped that the money came from Chief Unalaq granting his representative in the Republic a generous stipend in addition to Tarrlok's wage as a Councilman, and he wasn't going to dig deeper in case he was wrong. Still, in between the constant flow of fruit baskets, fine trinkets and a damned Satomobile, Tenzin was beginning to wonder.

Korra, to her credit, continued refusing.

Korra, to Tenzin's worry, was refusing out of poorly concealed fear. Amon hadn't rattled her; he had  _ frightened _ her.

Still, they could work on the fear, overcome it, and in the meantime Korra would continue to turn Tarrlok down, and she would be safe, and safely away from Amon and his worrisome ability.

And then, of course, the invitation to the galla arrived--

"Stop sending her gifts," Tenzin had told Tarrlok over the phone that night.

"Is that why you're calling me?" Tarrlok answered, voice drowsy.

"She's not going on your spirits-forsaken task force," Tenzin had said, uncaring. "A Satomobile? A  _ galla _ ? Really, Tarrlok?"

"You can use the mobile if you want," Tarrlok said through a stifled yawn. "Seriously, you didn't even call me for telephone sex?"

"You are unbelievable," Tenzin sighed.

\--and everything went pear-shaped, exactly the way Tarrlok had planned it.

The galla was a fine thing, and of course it was. Tarrlok would never settle for less than full glamour. Tenzin had been to his share of arrangements, and even he was impressed, but Korra--

Korra was staring around the grand foyer of City Hall, her mouth dropped and her eyes sparkling with the lights which dripped off every banister, bathing the foyer in a soft golden glow, almost too intimate for the size of the room and crowd.

"Oh, I see Chuin Heh," Pema said, waving at a friend.

"You go talk," Tenzin told her. "I'll look after Korra and the, uh, children." He glanced at the crowd, trying to assure himself that he could easily reach all three saffron-clad hellions in time as they rushed around in a frenzy.

Pema smiled and disappeared in the throng.

"I can't believe this is all for me," Korra breathed, staring up at a silk-painting of herself. "Holy shit, I look  _ badass _ ."

"Oh, I'm sure it's for something else too," said Tenzin, acidically. "Tarrlok is a consummate politician; he's not putting this much effort into it just to throw you a party."

"Yeah, sure, yeah," Korra said, not listening at all when she really should have been.

"Just be careful," Tenzin said. She ignored him entirely

Tarrlok melted out of the crowd, all navy-blue velvet and sky-blue silk to match his eyes, and for a moment Tenzin's mouth went dry.

"Avatar Korra! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"I never turn down a free meal!" Korra said with an awkward laugh.

"Sensible attitude," Tarrlok said. He smiled handsomely, his eyes gleaming, and offered her his arm. "Now, please, there's some people I'd love to introduce you to."

Tenzin stopped the Avatar with a hand on her shoulder and said, "I think I'll handle--"

"No, hey, it's fine!" Korra interrupted him. She shrugged free and took Tarrlok's arm, entirely too trusting. "I'd love to meet all these fancy fucks."

"Absolutely not fine," Tenzin said. "You have no idea--"

"Is that Meelo by the punch bowl?" Tarrlok asked, pointing at the drinks table.

It was.

It was Meelo.

Tenzin felt himself grow pale and he sputtered, too loudly, "No, Meelo, that's not a toilet! Pema, help!"

By the time Tenzin and Pema had wrestled Meelo away from the punch bowl, and back into his pants, Tarrlok and Korra were long gone. Tenzin frowned, ignoring Meelo's infuriated gnawing on his shoulder, and looked around the crowd.

And then Korra's furious voice rang out through the foyer, "I'm not fuckin' afraid of anybody!"

Tenzin looked to the stairway, where the young Avatar was surrounded by a crowd of reporters and one smirking Tarrlok.

"Oh, no," he muttered. "Pema, can you--" He offloaded Meelo in her arms before he could even finish and rushed off.

A few moments of distraction, and Tarrlok had gotten Korra right where he wanted her; in front of a pack of wolves.

"If the city needs me," Korra spat, even as Tenzin rushed through the crowd to stop her, "then I'll join Tarrlok's task force and take that motherfucker Amon down!"

"And there's your headline!" Tarrlok crowed, the camera bulbs going off like a thunderstorm.

Suddenly, Korra seemed to realise what had happened, biting her lip and brows drawing together. She met Tenzin's gaze briefly before looking away. Tenzin turned a glare on Tarrlok, who noticed and only grinned brightly at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm way too into food, dammit; every time I have to write a character eating, I describe a dish and then sit here like, "... I wanna try that."
> 
> Anyway, I already posted this thing in the comments, but I want everyone to see it. Behold.....
> 
> _... my masterpiece._


	17. The Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin tries to corral Korra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit keeps me going and whips this fic into shape.

“--another nest of Equalists taken out!” rattled off the nasal voice on the radio at lung-choking speed. It was a wonder, really, how breathless the speaker always sounded, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying. News or the weather, the same constant state of surprise. Tenzin glared at the device like it was to blame for this whole mess.

“This is the fourth hide-out discovered and dismantled by Councilman Tarrlok’s task force since joining forces with Avatar Korra!”

Tenzin’s scowl deepened.

“Seven Equalists have been taken into custody and are awaiting trial! Chief Beifong could not be reached for a comment, but her office has confirmed that they’ve taken custody of the radical rogues!”

“Ugh,” muttered Tenzin. There was a shuffle behind him, and Pema joined him, her arms cradling her stomach.

“We’re waiting here at City Hall for the press conference, and-- I think-- yes, we’re about to start, folks!” said the radio announcer, so exalted that it was a wonder he didn’t pass out.

“I thought you were going to talk some sense into her,” Pema said.

“I tried,” said Tenzin, gesturing helplessly at the infernal device. “She’s-- she thinks she’s got something to prove.”

“Thank you all for joining us here today,” Tarrlok’s voice came from the speaker, tinny. “I promised you something would be done, and something has been done!”

Pema’s face pinched, and now she was glaring at the radio as well.

“Snake,” she said under her breath.

A momentary surge of defensiveness rose in Tenzin but he pushed it down firmly. After all, wasn’t Pema right? Hadn’t Tenzin known, from very early on, that results mattered more to Tarrlok than ethics?

“--couldn’t possibly have done it alone,” Tarrlok continued. “This task force has been blessed with one extremely important participant. Avatar Korra--” Tenzin could almost see the dramatic sweep of Tarrlok’s arm as he introduced her, “--has answered the call to action! With the two of us leading the charge, I assure you, Republic City has nothing to fear from Amon or his Equalists!”

“Question for the Avatar!” one reporter called out. “Amon remains at large! Why have you failed to locate him?”

A shuffle, and then Korra’s voice, tense with anger, “You wanna know why?! Because Amon’s a fucking coward, hiding in the shadows and lettin’ his goons take the rap!” A clattering against the microphone, likely her fingers as she grasped it in her eagerness. "Amon, I'm challenging you to a duel!"

"Oh, no," breathed Tenzin.

"No task force, no chi blockers, just the two of us, asshole!"

"Korra," Tarrlok said in the background.

"Tonight!" spat Korra, undeterred. "Midnight, Memorial Island. Let's quit fuckin' around and end this -  _ if _ you're not a fuckin' pussy!"

The microphone thumped and the radio exploded with the shouted questions from the reporters.

"Everyone please calm down!" Tarrlok said, something like panic in his voice.

"There you have it, folks!" said the announcer frantically. "Avatar Korra versus Amon, the duel of the century! Let's see if the masked menace has the guts to--"

Tenzin turned off the radio, narrowly resisting pushing it off the table.

"That is-- that is stupid and idiotic," Pema said, rounding on him, "and exactly the sort of thing you were supposed to talk her out of, Tenzin!"

"I know, Pema!" Tenzin snapped, then winced and softened his voice. "I know. And I will." He kissed her cheek as he moved past her. "I'm going to go stop her. You get to bed, dear."

He didn't hear her response, if there was any, already rushing to grab his glider and take to the air.

The late-autumn dusk air was cool and smelled of wet tarmac, the wind blowing from the east, through the city and towards Air Temple Island. Tenzin shifted into an updraft, carrying him high into the darkening sky, and he angled towards the large dome of City Hall, gleaming in the last rays of the sun.

By the time he got there, the sun was entirely set, and the stars had begun lighting up the grey twilight. He was met on the roof by an aide too seasoned to show panic, but too panicked not to fidget, and was directed on to the docks.

Tenzin took off again without another word - rude, perhaps, but forgivable under the circumstances - and flew back the way he had come. He called up a boost of air, and beneath him the street lamps blurred into streaks of light. He vaguely and briefly recognised Tarrlok's apartment building as he sped past overhead; would that he could have been spending the evening there instead of this madness.

The Pro-Bending Arena, a great golden monstrosity and what Tenzin had thought was Korra's greatest folly up until now, loomed out of the darkness to his left. He swerved away from it, towards the downtown docks and the gathering of people, cars and airships clustered on an otherwise abandoned pier.

Korra was--

Korra was already on a boat, unmooring it with sharp, angry movements that, to Tenzin's eyes, seemed to be more about hiding fear than any real fury. He went in for a landing next to Tarrlok, who glanced back at the sound of his glider.

"Korra, this is madness!" he said as soon as his feet touched tarmac.

"Don't try to stop me and don't fuckin' follow me," Korra said, her voice tense and her face drawn tight. She didn't even look up at him. "I'm gonna face this shit waffle and take him out, and I gotta do it alone."

Throwing his hands up, Tenzin rounded on Tarrlok. "This is all your doing! Are you satisfied?!"

"I tried to talk her out of it, too!" Tarrlok shrugged helplessly, and Tenzin was shocked to realise that the concern on his face was genuine. "But she's made up her mind."

With a sucking  _ whoosh _ of rapidly shifting water, the Avatar shot away from the pier, her boat racing across the water.

"Korra!" Tenzin called.

"We're watching the island closely," Tarrlok said at his elbow. "If anything goes wrong, anything at all, I have a fleet of police airships ready to swoop down."

"This is completely preposterous," Tenzin groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What is she thinking? Why would you put her on the spot like that?!"

"I didn't!" said Tarrlok. Then, at the look Tenzin gave him, he amended, "Not this time! She just-- do you think I wouldn't have stopped her if I'd known what she was going to say?"

"At this point, I'm honestly not sure what to expect from you in regards to Korra."

"You're angry; I understand that," Tarrlok said soothingly. "I even understand that you're angry at me. But you have to know me well enough by now to know that putting a teenager unsupported in the direct path of an insane terrorist is well beyond me."

Tenzin breathed deeply, then looked at Tarrlok and nodded once.

"Yes, of course I know," he said. "But if you hadn't tricked her onto your task force--"

" _ Persuaded _ ," said Tarrlok.

"Tricked!" insisted Tenzin.

"Sir," said an officer behind them, "she's reached the island."

Tarrlok turned away from Tenzin, holding out his hand. "Very good. Give me those, then see if you can radio the station to patrol the lower docks as well, make sure no one's setting out."

"Yessir."

Tenzin focused on Memorial Island; his father's bronze visage was lit up from below, stark against the deepening darkness, but the island was too far away to make out any details. Tarrlok stuck a pair of binoculars into his hand.

"Here. Check for her."

"Thank you," Tenzin muttered, barely aware of it, so busy was he scanning the distant docks through the lenses.

There she was, marching around to the maintenance staircase going to the museum roof. At least she'd have a vantage point. Tenzin sighed and lowered the binoculars again, handing them back to Tarrlok.

As Tarrlok kept track of Korra’s progress, Tenzin started pacing, hands tight around his glider.

“The roof,” Tarrlok said to himself. “Good choice.”

“This is complete madness,” Tenzin said. “What if Amon--”

“He’d be a fool to show up,” Tarrlok cut him off, lowering the binoculars. “In between the police presence and Korra’s, uh…  _ enthusiastic _ attitude, surely he’d know better.”

“You said yourself he’s a lunatic,” Tenzin said sharply, coming to a halt again at Tarrlok’s side.

“But that much of one?” asked Tarrlok, raising a brow at him. “Besides, lunatic or not, so far Amon’s had excellent PR sense. What do you imagine attacking the Avatar - and not even fully realised at that - would do to his image? No, he’s too smart for that.”

Tenzin blinked and frowned at him.

“Well, that’s a sudden change of rhetoric.”

Tarrlok’s eye-roll was eloquent in its own right.

“Look,” he said, “he’s a complete madman, but he wants to seen as reasonable. If he wants a revolution - and by all accounts he does - he’s going to have to convince people that he’s righteous.” He gave Tenzin a smile, the crooked one. “Which is a long-winded way of saying that I’m pretty sure Korra’s safe. You can stop looking so terrified.”

Tenzin forced himself to unclench his shoulders and loosen his hold on his glider. “She’s-- she’s just very sheltered. You must have noticed.”

“I’ve noticed she’s colourful,” Tarrlok said.

“Yes, well,” said Tenzin, “my theory is that swearing was the only form of rebellion allowed to her. She’s been stuck in a compound with a team of tutors since she was three.”

Tarrlok’s face twisted briefly, then he raised the binoculars again.

“No wonder she’s awkward,” he said, his voice very level. “No child benefits from isolation.”

“Tarrlok of the Northern Water Tribe, child rearing expert,” Tenzin said dryly, suppressing the stab of guilt as he saw a flicker of emotion at the corner of Tarrlok's mouth. “What’s she doing?”

“Standing on the roof, looking extremely confrontational,” said Tarrlok. “I’m starting to get the feel for why you can’t teach her airbending.”

Fair enough; a jab in return for his own. “She just needs time,” Tenzin said.

“I’m pretty sure she has a father of her own,” Tarrlok said, letting the binoculars drop and looking at Tenzin. “A rather infamous fellow around the North too, if I’m not mistaken. So, what I’m not sure of is what this penguin-hen mothering is all about.”

“Tonraq and Senna were cut off from Korra after the-- after a while,” Tenzin said with an awkward shrug. “Master Pottu thought they distracted her. So, as a future teacher, I stepped in, and he couldn’t argue.” He paused, chuckled. “Though he wanted to.”

“Pottu sounds like an asshole,” said Tarrlok, voice flat.

Tenzin cleared his throat and looked around before saying, “Between you and me, he really is.”

“Councilman!” Tarrlok gasped, mock-scandalised, checking on the young Avatar again.

“Well?” demanded Tenzin.

“She’s gone from standing to prowling,” said Tarrlok. “If Amon does show, I’m pretty sure she’ll go straight past bending and right into punching.”

Tenzin felt a fond smile spread on his face, however much he tried to repress it as Tarrlok handed the binoculars over to let Tenzin see for himself.

“You watched her grow up,” Tarrlok said idly. “I get it. But from my experiences with our Divine Avatar, I think that the world needs protection from her rather than the other way around.”

“What do you mean?” Tenzin asked, frowning at him.

“She has a tendency to go to extremes,” Tarrlok said with a shrug, crossing his arms.

Tenzin huffed and checked on Korra who seemed to be ranting to herself. “Well, so do you, so I don’t know where you think you get off judging.”

“I’m not the Avatar,” said Tarrlok. “Don’t get me wrong; I like her pluck-- I like  _ Korra _ . But, diplomacy tells me that it’s a bad quality in an Avatar.”

“Avatar Kyoshi was the same way,” Tenzin said by way of her defense.

“Avatar Kyoshi was seven feet tall and fully realised,” Tarrlok said.

Tenzin turned the binoculars over in his hands and said, “She is very young. She wasn’t-- she wasn’t even supposed to be in Republic City, especially not with Amon-- excuse me, wasn’t it you crowing about how much safer we all were now that she’s here?!”

Tarrlok shrugged, completely unrepentant. “Whatever it took to get her on the task force.”

“So you happily lied and schemed to get an uncontrollable teenager on your ridiculous task force, and now you have the gall to complain about it?”

“Listen,” said Tarrlok, “you just can’t buy the kind of publicity I got from snagging her up.”

“Tarrlok--”

“And I wasn’t complaining!” Tarrlok went on. “I mean it; I like the girl, and I like that she has no limits, but I think you might want to teach her some basic manners before unleashing her on the rest of the world.”

Tenzin smiled slightly in the direction of his father’s statue. “I am trying.”

They fell silent, standing elbow to elbow, passing the binoculars back and forth. Tenzin was keenly aware of the officers all around him, of the darkened docks and windows that could all easily hide a camera, resisting the temptation to reach out, touch Tarrlok; squeeze his arm, brush his jaw, straighten his braids, any of a dozen gestures that they'd grown accustomed to in secret.

Across the dark waters, the clock on Memorial Island struck midnight, and beside him Tarrlok tensed, watching the island intently. Tenzin didn't dare breathe, waiting as Tarrlok scanned the waters. Finally the waterbender lowered the binoculars.

"Nothing. I think Amon did the sensible thing and stayed as far away as possible."

Tenzin felt relief course through his body like a gust, slumping. "Oh, thank goodness. And Korra?"

Tarrlok checked, laughing slightly. "I think she's intent on giving him a fair chance. She's still up there."

"Oh, honestly."

"Let's give her fifteen minutes before picking her up," said Tarrlok. "She'd just refuse otherwise."

"Likely," Tenzin agreed. "I don't grasp how the Avatar line works. How someone like my father can become--" He gestured helplessly at the island. "Her."

"Oh, don't try to play tough," said Tarrlok, teasing. "You really do hover over that girl like she's your own."

"I-- I do care about her," Tenzin admitted with an awkward shrug.

"I know you do," said Tarrlok, a teasing tone mixing with warmth.

Then he seemed to remember how exposed they were and cleared his throat, taking a step away from Tenzin. "I think we can start to stand down," he told an officer.

Tenzin picked at the ribs of his glider, forcing himself to consider the logistics of getting Korra to Air Temple Island without Oogi this late at night, instead of dwelling on the sweet warmth from his lover.

Perhaps they could simply commandeer the same boat Korra had used...

"She's coming down from the roof now, sir," said someone off to the side.

"Very good," Tarrlok said.

The dinky boat was looking like the only option, unless Tenzin was to fly back alone and fetch Oogi. Honestly, couldn’t Korra have issued her challenge at a more reasonable hour?

“What are you frowning about?” Tarrlok asked.

“Huh? Oh! How to get Korra back home as quickly as possible and, hopefully, talk some sense into her,” Tenzin said, a little embarrassed to be caught mid-thought.

Tarrlok gave him a sharp look. “You’re not going to try to talk her off my task force, are you?”

“That is exactly what I’m going to do,” Tenzin said.

“Tenzin--” Tarrlok started.

“You got your publicity,” Tenzin said. “You’ve gotten at least a dozen photos to use in your re-election campaign, if the papers are any indication. Enough is enough.”

Tarrlok sighed, loud and frustrated, tilting his head back as if to plead with the waning moon for guidance.

“Besides, she needs to focus on her airbending,” Tenzin went on.

“So you really are trying to unleash a fully realised Avatar with not a shred of tact on the world,” Tarrlok said.

“Tact will come with spirituality,” said Tenzin, well aware of how irritating he sounded.

“Not if we take you as an example,” Tarrlok said with a small smirk.

“I’m perfectly tactful,” said Tenzin. “You’re just usually undeserving of the effort.”

Tarrlok scoffed, but Tenzin caught a small, genuine smile as the waterbender turned to watch the officers pack away their gear in the waiting trucks, chatting amongst themselves. Smiling himself, Tenzin looked out across the dark waters, the waves glinting with the lights of Memorial Island. Then the smile faded.

“Shouldn’t she be on her way back to shore by now?”

Tarrlok glanced at him, then did a double take, eyes growing wide. He spun on his heel to face the water, raising the binoculars in one smooth motion, scanning across the island.

“She’s gone!”

The glider snapped open and Tenzin was off to a running start before he was even conscious of doing it, dread roiling in his stomach. He took to the air, images of Korra captured, Korra injured, Korra broken running through his mind. Behind him he could hear Tarrlok yelling out orders to get the airships moving, but they were all too slow. He called up the wind, sending him hurtling off the dock's ledge and towards Memorial Island with reckless speed.

How had Amon made it past them? If it even was Amon. Everyone would have known exactly where to find a young, inexperienced Avatar at midnight tonight. The Triads or-- or another Red Lotus cell; any one of them would have known.

Tenzin landed running on the island docks, casting his glider aside as he dashed ahead with the wind still at his back.

A faint light pulsed from within the museum, a light that was definitely not supposed to be there in the abandoned hall. It was a lantern, a common workman’s lantern found in every industrial neighbourhood in the city, sitting on the floor entirely out of place, illuminating a crumpled form.

“Korra!” Tenzin yelled.

She was barely conscious, her eyes open a mere slit, glittering in the lantern’s light.

“Korra?!” He fell to his knees, pulling at her desperately, hoping for any response.

Korra seemed to shake awake, eyes opening and focusing on him.

“Are you alright? What happened?” Tenzin babbled. “Was Amon here?!”

"Yeah," said Korra, her voice weak and low. "Yeah, he ambushed me."

Cold fear crept down Tenzin's spine, prickled at the stubble on his neck. He tightened his hands on her shoulders, trying to look her in the eyes, but Korra avoided his gaze. "Did-- did he take your bending?"

Korra lifted a hand, a flame springing into life in her palm. "No, I'm okay," she said, very clearly not okay.

"Thank goodness," Tenzin said, uncomfortably aware of the tremble in his voice.

Korra finally looked at him, her eyes wide and frightened and suddenly overflowing with tears. She collapsed against him, her body wracked with sobs.

"I was so fucking scared, Tenzin! There were so many of them!"

Tenzin wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright," he said for lack of anything better to say. "Everything's fine. It's over; he's gone now."

"He said-- he said that he was saving me for last," Korra sobbed into his chest. "He said he'd destroy me. He-- he didn't want to make me a martyr, and I've never been so scared before. He could've-- I couldn't stop him, Tenzin! I don't know what to do!"

Some small, hysterical part of Tenzin found a bitter amusement in Amon being exactly as pragmatically ruthless as Tarrlok, but the rest of him had a weeping, terrified teenager in his arms.

"We'll figure it out," he promised, shakily stroking her hair. "Admitting your fears is hard, but it's the first step in overcoming them."

"I'm s'posed to be the fucking Avatar," Korra hiccupped, curling up as small as she could. Outside Tenzin could hear the hum of airships closing in.

"You're still only one person," Tenzin said. "I don't blame you for being afraid. No one would." He gently took her shoulders and lifted her back upright, smiling as soothingly as he could, despite the yawning fear, at the tear-soaked face revealed. "Let's get you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scenes we miss out on because Tenzin's the POV character: Amon sitting in a dinky safe-house, listening to the radio and being scandalised. "Who _raised_ this girl?! What kind of language is that?! Her parents should be ashamed! Just no respect at all!"
> 
> "Sir, aren't we just... gonna kill her at some point?"
> 
> "Well, yes, Lieutenant, but that's no call to use that kind of filthy language! The youth these days!"
> 
> Listen, I have a lot of dumb headcanons about Noatak, but the second funniest is absolutely that he's an old fuddy-duddy.


	18. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin deals with terrorism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Okay, so important note first:** I will be taking a break next week. If you've read my previous author notes, you'll know I'm in the (somewhat belated) process of taking my driver's license. My hopefully final test is next week, but whether I pass or fail (a real possibility) I'm going to need time to get back on top. So next chapter will be in two weeks!
> 
> As always, DoubtingRabbit is the clearest star in the firmament and the beta of the spheres.

The remnants of the Pro-Bending arena had stopped smoking and, if nothing else, the garish golden facade only showed through in streaks where the fire brigade had bent in water to quench the flames. Some of them were still at work, siphoning out the water in the stadium seats; it spread across the bay in fans and plumes, ash drifting lazily with the waves.

"I thought this was under control," Guan Ting said off to Tenzin's right, his voice acidic.

"The Equalists infiltrated the arena," said Lin, picking her way through the rubble.

"Wasn't that what you were supposed to prevent?" Tarrlok asked. He called a glob of filthy water to hover by his hand. The ash and rubble dripped off it in thick, dark drops, leaving only the clear water. "In fact, the only reason this Council agreed to proceed with the tournament--"

"--was because I promised to prevent this, yes, I know." Lin snapped, rounding on them. Her eyes sparked like green steel as she looked from one to the other. "But before you all get too political about this, I suggest you consider the implications."

"Which are?" Tarrlok said.

"One," said Lin, holding up a finger; they all pretended not to notice which one, "the Equalists snuck in weapons, which should have been caught by security. They weren't. Which means security's been compromised."

"Who handled security?" Zirsa interrupted. "The police or someone else?"

"Private firm," Lin said. "A mistake, in hindsight. Two," she continued before anyone else could comment, holding up a second finger. "Amon has access to far more advanced tech than any of us realised. Where the hell did he get that airship?"

What relief Tenzin had felt at the police force not having been compromised fled with a cold shiver down the spine. "He has a backer."

"Glad some of you can think," Lin said. "The Equalists aren't running any operations that give them this kind of money."

"Well, this is useful," Tarrlok said, "but it's also a distraction from the main problem at hand, namely your failure to uphold peace and order, Chief Beifong."

"I mean, I think it's worth being concerned about," Nakada said.

"Agreed," Guan Ting said, "but I also think the Chairman has a point. This was exactly what she was supposed to prevent."

Lin made a rude noise and would have stomped over to her fellow earthbender if the rubble had allowed it. "Yeah, it was, but maybe we need to consider why the Equalists knew where to infiltrate in the first place."

"What do you mean?" asked Tenzin.

"The security firm was recommended to me by City Hall," Lin snapped, rounding on him. "Got the memo and everything. I would've thought you pencil pushers could vet something!"

The Council fell silent, exchanging looks.

"Who recommended..." Tenzin started hesitantly.

No one answered. Lin filled the silence with a string of curses, low and fervent.

"So," said Tarrlok, "it appears we have a whole host of problems at hand."

"Lin, can you send me the memo?" Tenzin furthered, less hesitantly.

She shrugged, her face set in a scowl. "Sure, but I promise you it's legit-- well, it looks legit, anyway. The proper paper, the proper seals, came with the rest of the paperwork you people send my way."

"Even so," said Tenzin.

"Excellent," said Tarrlok, and he sounded entirely too cheerful considering the conversation. "While Councilman Tenzin examines that, I suggest the rest of us focus on other things. Councilman Guan Ting, Councilwoman Zirsa, would you take charge of examining our staff?"

"Happily," Zirsa said, not looking all that happy at all. Guan Ting merely nodded.

"Nakada, how's your accounting?" Tarrlok prompted.

"Uh, same as-- same as always," said the waterbender. "Do you want me to look for potential backers?"

"If you could," Tarrlok said. He turned and smiled at Lin who did not return the favour. "Personally, I'll handle this mess. Thank you, Chief."

"He's throwing me under the bus," Lin said, low and angry, as Tarrlok walked away.

Tenzin sighed and opened his mouth to answer.

"Don't fucking say you warned me," Lin cut him off. "I swear, Tenzin."

Tenzin bristled. "I said this was a bad idea!" he insisted. "From the beginning! I don't know how many people had to be carted off to the hospital after this, or how much this will cost to rebuild, and I don't know about you, but I'm still dizzy from getting hit with those ridiculous gloves!"

Lin didn't look at him, staring out across what remained of the arena. The platform was gone, and a chunk of seating was reduced to a pile of rubble.

"One hundred and seven," she said finally.

"What?"

"One hundred and seven people were taken to Katara General," she said.

Tenzin tugged on his beard, giving the yawning hole where the dome should be an angry look. "At least no one died."

"Yet," Lin muttered. She turned on her heel and started picking her way outside. "I'll get you that memo."

The memo arrived on Tenzin's desk with little fanfare, delivered by a dour officer who seemed to be in pain every time he was forced to open his mouth and speak. Tenzin was relieved; it made it easier to dismiss him quickly and panic quietly over the memo.

It was absolutely flawless, as Lin had said. It used the official stationary, complete with the manufacturer's watermark; had the two proper stamps identifying it as both an official communique and as being sent two days previous. Type-written with, as far as Tenzin could tell, the official ashy black ink used at City Hall.

Either the Equalists harboured expert counterfeiters or, more likely, the private security firm wasn't the only place that Amon had sent in agents. That thought made Tenzin momentarily nauseous. The very idea that any one of the aides could be smuggling in one of those gloves.

Running steps skidded to a halt outside, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that it was Nakada, not an aide, poking his head in the door.

"I found it, Tenzin!" he said, beaming. "Cabbage Corp!"

Tenzin blinked and slumped back in his chair. "Surely not."

"I already sent off a telegram to the police," Nakada continued blithely. "This is so exciting! Oh, I must tell the Chairman!" And he was off again.

Tenzin stared blankly at the memo.

Cabbage Corp? Lau Gan-Lan was a non-bender, yes, but also a loudmouthed braggart; surely if he'd had Equalist sympathies…

He pushed it away, but the thoughts kept ruminating even as he went back to the memo.

Unusually fast of Nakada, too. Tenzin stared at the memo, unseeing. Accounting took time; finding discrepancies even longer. And even then, to ascertain that those discrepancies were more than just regular book-cooking--

Tenzin stared at the memo.

The Equalists had found their way into City Hall somehow. They had already begun planting misinformation, starting with the memo. Or perhaps not. Perhaps this was only the first time it had been caught.

The memo buckled in Tenzin's fingers.

Minutes later, he nearly soared over Nakada as he strode into Tarrlok's office.

"It's not Cabbage Corp," he said definitively.

Tarrlok raised his eyebrows. "Councilman Nakada seems to think it is."

"It is!" Nakada insisted, gesturing at the papers scattered haphazardly on the driftwood desk. "Look! I can promise you, Tenzin--"

"It's been, what, two hours since you started? Three?" Tenzin asked. He snorted. "I'm not questioning your skills, Nakada, but that beggars belief!"

Tarrlok looked expectantly between them.

Nakada stammered for a moment before saying, "I did receive an anonymous tip, no doubt from an employee, with how quickly it came in."

Tenzin nearly laughed hysterically, but managed to bite it back.

"After we just found out that the Equalists are spreading around lies, using our own networks against us?" he pointed out, trying to be patient.

Nakada reminded him of a sheepish pupil.

"Well, if Gan-Lan has nothing to hide, then all will be well," Tarrlok said, folding his hands on the desk with another look at the paperwork.

"So we call the police down on an innocent man?" Tenzin snapped before belatedly remembering that this was a debate he and Tarrlok were never going to stop having.

"If he is innocent," Tarrlok said with a stiletto smile. "If not, then this is an excellent chance for your good friend the Chief to redeem herself."

Tenzin made a frustrated sound. "Lin isn't-- Lin doesn't need redemption, and--"

"Doesn't she?" Tarrlok cut him off. "Are you really trying to defend her after this whole debacle?"

"I'm objecting to-- to putting politics into it!" Tenzin stammered.

"We're politicians, Tenzin; this is what we do."

"Anyway," Tenzin said firmly, "if this turns out to be a red swan-herring, that's just giving you a better excuse to get rid of her."

"Why would I want to get rid of her?" Tarrlok asked.

Tenzin knew he was being baited and bit his tongue.

"It's not a false lead," Nakada insisted, just a touch petulant. "I checked over the accounts, and it matches up with the anonymous tip! They're going to find Equalist equipment in his factories!"

"Well, we'll know soon enough," Tarrlok said, glancing at the clock.

Tenzin considered a dramatic exit, but Nakada seemed content to loiter and Tarrlok did not seem inclined to kick them out, so he stayed.

Tenzin absently looked over the Northerner's bookshelves. They were decidedly less interesting than the ones in Tarrlok's apartment, he thought; economy and statistics, with a few volumes on speech writing. Not a bit of pulp in sight.

For a moment, the temptation was there to sneak off to Tarrlok's apartment that evening, but Tenzin quashed it. Things were tense, and the only reason he wasn't pulling all-nighters like the rest of the Council was because he was the only one who had small children; elsewise they were childless - Tarrlok and Nakada - or their children were grown - Zirsa and Guan Ting.

If Tenzin did pop by, he'd find the flat abandoned. He sighed, staring blankly at a stack of papers, all with Tarrlok's face on the front page.

A phone rang, breaking Tenzin's reverie, and Tarrlok opened the drawer that held it.

"Chairman Tarrlok speaking," he said, and, of course the receiver was ivory and chrome, as fussy and expensive as everything else about Tarrlok. "I see. Very good; thank you." He hung up and smiled, very evenly, at both of them. "Congratulations, Nakada; you've caught our man."

Nakada made a chuffed little sound and shot Tenzin a smug look.

He ignored it, moving to the driftwood desk with a frown. "Well?"

"Crates full of Equalist equipment," Tarrlok said, leaning back in his chair, "all thoroughly locked away in the back rooms."

"And Gan-Lan?" Tenzin pressed.

"In custody. He proclaims his innocence, but he was caught red-handed."

"Hah!" said Nakada, damn near strutting. "Gentlemen, as I promised."

"This smells," Tenzin said, ignoring the Southern waterbender in favour of the Northern one.

"It does-- it does not smell!" Nakada said. "Chairman, tell him it doesn't smell!"

"I'm sure I'm no expert on odours or hypersensitive noses," Tarrlok said and gathered up the papers. "Well done, Councilman; the police are surely competent enough to take it from here."

Nakada snatched the papers, gave Tenzin an irritated look and stormed out.

Tenzin glared after him, then turned back to Tarrlok, mulish.

"It does smell, and you know it."

"It does seem very neat," Tarrlok said, eyes distant.

"So do something about it!" Tenzin spat, slamming his hands on the desk, the better to turn his glare on Tarrlok. It only earned him a raised eyebrow.

"You're the one with connections to the police, Tenzin, not me."

Tenzin's hands curled into fists and he asked, "You're letting this happen, aren't you? Scapegoating Lin for the arena didn't get her ousted, so now you're letting her take the fall for this too."

"Scapegoating implies she didn't take on that risk on her own accord," Tarrlok told him sharply. "Why this sudden concern for Beifong? Do I need to get jealous?"

"It's not-- I'm concerned about your railroading a good officer in the midst of a crisis for your own gain!" Tenzin said, shoving away from the desk.

Tarrlok pale eyes narrowed.

"Maybe," he said, "you should be more concerned about being caught in my office."

Tenzin fought back his first instinctive desire to look at the windows, instead scoffing. "This conversation isn't over," he said, turning to stride out of the office.

He could feel Tarrlok's eyes on him the entire way.

Back in his office, the memo was where Tenzin left it, slightly crumpled on his desktop, and Tenzin took a deep breath, letting the frustration drain as he exhaled. Better to work than dwell on what he couldn't change, at least not for now.

Later, he would look into the Cabbage Corp case. Now, he would tend to his duties as if an insane terrorist wasn't closing his grip on the city.

Those duties lasted him well into dusk, interrupted only by the customary call from Pema, and by the time the clock reached five, he was sore and the anxious knot in his chest had done nothing to undo itself. He sighed and stretched, his back cracking pleasantly, and started packing away his finished paperwork.

The phone rang.

Tenzin gave it a sour look and considered letting it ring. Finally, his shoulders slumping, he picked up.

"Councilman Tenzin."

"It's me," said Lin curtly.

"Oh, uh, Lin, that's-- what? Why are you calling?"

"Can you meet me on the roof of HQ?"

Tenzin blinked, stared at the receiver in his hand. "I-- sure?"

"Good," she said and hung up.

"But what--" Tenzin said before realising there'd be no response. He didn't know why he was surprised, but he still huffed in frustration, hooking the receiver back on the phone.

The flight was short and cold, the autumn winds pulling at his cape and pressing through his linen robes, but it was no matter; it took a moment's concentration to keep the chill at bay. His curiosity, however, roiled, and only grew more pronounced as he spotted Lin with a shorter figure next to her. Korra, he realised, as he closed in, her arms crossed and her face pinched.

He touched down.

"Korra? What are you doing here?"

"It's not the Cabbage Corp guy," she said by way of answering.

Tenzin looked from Avatar to Chief and back again. "What?"

Lin scoffed, but Korra explained undeterred, "The guy they arrested! He's not an Equalist. It's fuckin' Sato."

"Hiroshi Sato?" Tenzin asked, and Korra nodded, her lips pressed in a thin line. "How do you know?"

"'cause I fuckin' heard him, Tenzin. I was chilling with Asami and the boys, and I heard him talking 'bout it in his office." Her crossed arms tightened. "I think he was talking to Amon."

"What exactly did you hear?" Lin demanded.

Korra barely glanced at her, keeping her eyes on Tenzin. "He said that the Cabbage Corp thing bought 'em time. That in a week, they'd be ready. Like what the fuck else could that mean?"

"It could mean anything!" Lin said. "It could be they're both trying to get competing products to the market!"

"Wouldn't we have heard anything?" said Tenzin. "Ad campaigns? Look, Lin, you have to admit that this whole thing with Gan-Lan is strange."

Though Lin's mouth drew down at the corners, she said nothing.

"And if I'm going to be honest," Tenzin continued, "the tech that the Equalists are using seems too high in quality to be Cabbage Corp."

"You got a point there," Lin muttered, and he appreciated that it was difficult for her to admit even that much. "But to go from that to accusing Sato-- the man refuses to even  _ touch _ politics!"

"Look, I know what I heard," Korra said sharply. "He framed Lan-Gan--"

"Gan-Lan," Tenzin corrected her.

"--and he’s up to some shit for the Equalists!"

Lin and Tenzin eyed each other for a moment before Lin reluctantly said, "He does have a motive. And more than enough means."

Tenzin exhaled thoughtfully, running his hands absently over his beard.

"What?" Korra demanded. "What motive?"

"His wife was killed by the Agni Kais, twelve years ago," Tenzin said. "A-- a robbery gone wrong. It was a media frenzy for weeks."

A distasteful one; Tenzin remembered the endless, ghastly photos of a hollow-eyed Sato and his frightened daughter, only six years old, clinging to his side.

"Oh," said Korra, her brows furrowing together, and her eyes widening as she came to some realisation.

"It's possible, I suppose," Tenzin continued, "that he's been harbouring anti-bending sentiment since then, and when the Equalists formed..." He gestured.

Lin pursed her lips, considering Korra for a moment. "Alright," she said. "Let's take a closer look at Mr. Sato."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter wasn't even supposed to exist as first, 'cause I Do Not Care for the whole pro-bending arc. However, the further I wrote, the more clear it became that I needed to address the Sato situation, so... here it is.
> 
> See you all in two weeks!


	19. Fractures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin notices the cracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uhhhh, I'm expanding the hiatus until January 8th (see details at the end, if you want them), but I didn't wanna leave you all hanging, so here's a chapter to tide you over.
> 
> As always, DoubtingRabbit is the real MVP.

Katara General Hospital always made Tenzin uncomfortable, and not solely because of his mother's statue out front, water flowing from its outstretched hands and a piteous look on her face. There was also a bustle through-out the building that was too cheerful, as if it could cover the illness and infirmities underneath. 

Tenzin hurried through the halls, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He hoped he was imagining the glances as he moved along, and that the whispers he could hear were unrelated.

The raid - or raids, rather - on Sato's property had been an unmitigated disaster. Lin injured and himself knocked out, an entire squad of police officers taken prisoner and spirited away, and Sato-- Tenzin had invited the man to his  _ home _ for each Autumn Festival!

Had Sato sat there, seething with hate, as he watched the last airbenders display their powers? Had he wished Tenzin's children ill as they played among the guests?

Tenzin swallowed back nausea and stopped as he reached the room he wanted. He saw through the window set into the door that Lin was not asleep; he couldn't decide whether he was relieved or thankful. He knocked politely on the open door. She looked up from the book she'd been glaring at, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No flowers, even? Where're your manners?" She sounded like herself, but there were bruises and scrapes mottling her face and neck, creeping up from beneath her collar.

"I didn't think you'd appreciate it," he said breezily, swinging the door shut behind him.

Lin's book thumped into her lap, her eyes narrowing at him. "Out with it."

"Your resignation was accepted," Tenzin said.

"Of course it was," said Lin bitterly. "I made myself the perfect scapegoat for them, after all."

"Tarrlok suggested Saikhan as your replacement, and the Council agreed," Tenzin continued.

Lin scoffed. "Ah, but you didn't."

Tenzin clutched his hands together. "No, I didn't. Tarrlok was entirely too eager to get him appointed."

"Well done, Tenzin," said Lin. "For once, you're being clever. Saikhan's an idiot who'll lick whatever hand feeds him."

Tenzin sighed, pacing the small room like a whirlwind in a jar. He had the distinct feeling of things spinning out of control; understandable after Amon's attack on the Arena and the revelation that Hiroshi Sato - famously apolitical, never even donating to anything but the cleanest charities - had been colluding with terrorists for years.

"Bet that three-braided fop's been spinning publicity gold off of this, too," Lin grumbled.

And what was Tenzin supposed to say to that? He shrugged and nodded. "Of course he has."

"And Sato?" Lin demanded, the shift so sudden that Tenzin reeled for a moment.

"No sign of him," he said after a moment. "There's a whole network of tunnels from that secret lair of his, but they're all empty. He likely escaped through one." He paced again. "I invited his daughter to stay on Air Temple Island. Well, Korra invited, but I agreed."

"Good thinking," said Lin. "Keep an eye on her."

Tenzin was too ashamed to admit that those had been his exact thoughts, so he said, "Lin! Korra said that she turned on her father, saving us!"

"Can you think of a better way to infiltrate?" Lin said sharply.

"Am I supposed to be suspicious of everyone who crosses my path?" Tenzin asked with a grand gesture, less of Lin and more of the world at large.

Lin snorted. "At this point? Probably." She struggled to sit up, and Tenzin forced himself not to help her; it wouldn't be appreciated. "Amon got his claws into one of the richest, most respected men in this damned city. Who else has he got?"

Yes, who else? 

The thought made Tenzin queasy, and he slumped into the lone chair in the room, scooted against the wall. Were the rest of high society bank-rolling him too? Had he managed to convert police officers, made them hate their own bending? How well did Tenzin really know his aides at City Hall? How well did he know the other Councilmembers?

_ Tarrlok plays right into Amon's hands _ , a treacherous thought said, but Tenzin squashed it. Tarrlok he knew. Tarrlok hated Amon with every fiber of his lean body.

"Now you're getting it," said Lin, a cold amusement in her voice. "Our problem was that we were dealing with Amon like any common criminal. He's not. He's a true believer, and true believers have very few restraints for their cause."

Tenzin looked down at his folded hands.

"I need to get home, find Korra; we have to attend Saikhan's induction," he said, and even to his own ears he sounded defeated. "I just came by to update you."

"Thanks," said Lin, bland as her cream-colored bedclothes. "Hey, if the Avatar wants to earthbend a stalagmite up Saikhan's ass or something along those lines, do me a favour and don't stop her."

It succeeded in pulling a scandalised chuckle from Tenzin, and he bid Lin an almost-fond farewell.

Minutes later, he was soaring high above Republic City's central boulevard, heading westward towards the bay. The sky was grey with clouds, and the air had a bitter sting; the first sign of frost. Tenzin let it clear his head, passing City Hall and, moments later, the Police HQ where he could see people already milling about at the entrance, setting up a cordon for reporters. Through the mist, the blackened ruin of the Pro-Bending Arena loomed. Rebuilding had already started, but clearly washing off the garish golden exterior was a low priority.

When he arrived at the island, Tenzin quickly realised that the guests had beat him to it. A mountain of luggage - all expensive leather and brass - was piled outside the women's wing and a crew of acolytes trying to figure out where to put it. Tenzin strode past them, heading for Korra's room, only to bump into a mopey Ikki on the way.

"Daddy!" she cried, deeply scandalised. "Korra wouldn't let me show Asami her room!"

"Oh?" said Tenzin vaguely, glancing at the row of doors and trying to figure out which was Sato's.

"Korra's being so weird," Ikki said. "She's weird about Mako, she's weird about Asami, and anyway I wanted to talk to Asami too!"

"What room did you put her in, sweetheart?" Tenzin asked, putting a calming hand on her head.

Ikki pouted mightily, gesturing at a closed door a little down the hall.

"Thank you," said Tenzin, patting her. "I'm sure once they're settled in, you'll be allowed to tag along. Go on with you."

"Uuuugggh," groaned Ikki, plodding away.

Tenzin moved to the door. He could faintly hear chatter from within, but couldn't make out the words so, to be safe, he knocked firmly.

"Ikki, I fuckin' swear," Korra's voice came, loud and tense, "if you don't fuck off I'm gonna--"

Tenzin slid the door open just in time to see Korra nearly swallow her tongue at the sight of him, eyes wide.

"Ikki has left, I think," he said mildly.

"Tenzin!" Korra squeaked, and to Tenzin's surprise she blushed as she glanced back at Sato standing by the window. "Uh, come on in!"

"Ladies," he said as he stepped in, "good day. Asami, I wanted to welcome you to the island." 

He bowed, but kept his eyes on the heiress; she looked tired and drawn, even under her perfect make-up. Her eyes were red. Even so, when Sato bowed back it was flawless and her smile could dazzle a theater.

"Thank you for having me," she said, her voice warm as a purring engine. Tenzin's spine prickled with suspicion; she was as good an actor as Tarrlok, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was only stress she was hiding.

"No one should be alone after what you've been through," Tenzin replied, then turned to Korra. "It was you I came to see, however."

Korra looked guilty, almost by instinct. "Me?"

"Beifong's replacement, Saikhan, is going to be inducted as the new Chief of Police today," Tenzin said, "and I really think we should both be there."

"Oh, uh," said Korra, glancing at Asami again, "sure. Yeah."

An hour later, the two of them lined up with the rest of the Council behind Saikhan as he stepped up to the podium. Cameras flashed in an incessant barrage like a poor attempt at lightningbending.

"He looks wet," Korra muttered, glaring at the back of Saikhan's head.

Tenzin raised a hand to shush her, only too aware that half those cameras were trained on her.

"Thank you all for coming here today," Saikhan said, too close to the microphone. He moved back with a clearing of his throat. The bald pate of his head was gleaming with sweat as he continued at a more appropriate distance, "It has been a great honour to serve under Chief Beifong for so many years. I wish her a speedy recovery. We  _ all _ wish her a speedy recovery."

Tenzin glanced down the line where Tarrlok was standing, looking entirely serene and not in the slightest worried that his chosen candidate was making an awkward fool of himself.

"It is with great humility that I take her place as the new Chief of Police," Saikhan continued, falling into something too stilted to be a rhythm, his eyes fixed on the paper in front of him. "Republic City is facing a threat like none the world has ever seen, but there is one man who's been effective against Amon's revolution, Councilman Tarrlok." He belatedly realised that he had missed his cue and awkwardly gestured at Tarrlok, repeating, "Councilman Tarrlok."

The cameras went off again, and Tarrlok smiled winsomely at them.

"That is why," Saikhan continued stiltedly, "for all matters involving the Equalists, I will report directly to him."

_ Wait, what? _

Tenzin blinked, frowning down the line. The frown deepened when he realised that the rest of the Council clearly already knew of the decision. Scanning back up the line, he found himself exchanging a worried look with Korra.

Saikhan continued, trying to sound authoritative, "The police department will lend any and all available resources to the Councilman and his task force until we quell this insurgency!"

He pounded a fist on the podium, entirely out of time with his words.

Of all the choices, Tarrlok had gone with a buffoon with no sense of theater? Under usual circumstances, Tenzin might have approved, but now...

"What is that fuck muppet Tarrlok up to now?" Korra fairly growled, directing a glare down the line at him.

“Consolidating power,” Tenzin said beneath his breath, eyeing Tarrlok himself. The waterbender was either ignorant of their staring - unlikely - or ignoring them.

“With that guy?” Korra said, gesturing rudely at Saikhan who was now doing his level best to answer questions.

Tenzin had no answer for that, and they fell into a tense silence while waiting for the whole awkward farce to end. Korra refrained from bending a stalagmite up Saikhan’s ass, though she did look worryingly close once or twice.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the press conference ended and Tenzin moved to hover at Tarrlok’s back like a disapproving thundercloud. When the rest of the Council finally left their Chairman be - stridently avoiding Tenzin’s eyes - he said, “I don't know what you did to get that man in your pocket, but I highly doubt it was legal."

Tarrlok scoffed slightly and turned to face him, and Tenzin felt an entirely unreasonable flutter in his chest at the sight of his smile. The real one, crooked and sly.

"I didn't know you were turning into a conspiracy theorist, Tenzin," Tarrlok said, teasing. Then his eyes flicked over Tenzin's shoulder, and both his smile and his voice shifted to the expert mask of Councilman Tarrlok as he went on, "Did you ever consider that Saikhan simply understands that we both want what's best for this city? Ah, Avatar Korra, a pleasure to see you again."

"Fuck off," Korra spat, following to stand beside Tenzin.

"Charming," said Tarrlok, the perfect smile never wavering. "Tell me, now that you're done playing at being a pro-bender, surely you intend to rejoin my task force?"

"Fuck. Off," Korra repeated, very clearly. "I'm done playin' out that PR stunt for you and your fuckin' vanity project."

Tarrlok clucked his tongue regretfully. "Unfortunate," he said, "but I'm sure you'll come to your senses as you mature."

"Yeah, keep dreamin', shitstain," Korra said, stepping up to Tarrlok and squaring her shoulders. Tarrlok looked down at her, amused.

"Korra," Tenzin said, a little worried.

"Tenzin's been right about your skeevy ass all along," Korra said, completely ignoring him, but she at least refrained from punching Tarrlok like he’d feared.

"Has he," said Tarrlok mildly, pale eyes narrowing at Tenzin.

Tenzin tried not to squirm.

"You played me," said Korra between gritted teeth, "you played Beifong, and fuck me if you ain't playing this sweaty dumbass, too. I don't like you and you don't like me, but I got some fucking news for you, pretty boy: you need me, but I sure as fuck don't need you. 

"'cause I'm the damn Avatar."

Tenzin was so used to Korra that his first reaction was exasperation at her diatribe, but then he saw that even politician's smile on Tarrlok's face grow knife-sharp. He reached out to stop her before it was too late, but she shrugged off his hand, still squaring off with Tarrlok like this was a fight she knew how to win.

"Oh," breathed Tarrlok, his eyes glittering like ice. "But you're not the Avatar, are you? You're a half-baked Avatar  _ in training _ ."

His smile widened, cold and cruel, and Tenzin grabbed Korra's shoulder again. This time she didn't shrug him off.

"Reminds me," said Tarrlok, ever so gently, "how is your airbending going? Made any sort of real, significant progress with that?"

"I--" Korra stammered, taking a step back towards Tenzin.

"I didn't think so," said Tarrlok, mild and disappointed.

"Enough," snapped Tenzin, stepping between him and Korra.

Tarrlok's icily polite stare turned on him, and Tenzin could feel it like the prickle of frost in his heart.

"If she won't rejoin my task force," Tarrlok said, "then I suggest you keep her out of my way. Good day to you both."

He turned on his heel and left, and Korra’s shoulders slumped under Tenzin’s hand.

“Come on,” Tenzin said quietly, casting a last glance at Tarrlok’s back. “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah,” said Korra, her voice weak.

She stayed silent for the walk to where Oogi was tethered, and she clambered up into the bison’s saddle without a word. Tenzin watched her with a frown, whirling himself up to his own spot behind Oogi’s head.

“Don’t let Tarrlok get to you,” he tried, over his shoulder, but she didn’t answer. Tenzin sighed and took Oogi’s reins with a quiet, “Yip-yip.”

They were halfway back, gliding across the bay, before Korra finally spoke.

“He’s right, though!” she said, the dam of her voice breaking under the flood of tears.

“He was only right in that it’s difficult for you,” said Tenzin, glancing back at her. Korra was curled up against the side of the saddle, dejected, her head down. “He used something he knew you were having trouble with, that doesn’t mean that he’s right in how he treated you. You have to allow yourself time, Korra.”

“How did he even know?” asked Korra plaintively, wiping angrily at her eyes.

Tenzin felt a knot of guilt in the pit of his gut. Tarrlok knew, of course, because Tenzin had told him. Mindlessly babbling out Korra’s troubles in a pleasant afterglow. He sighed.

“I just don’t get what the fuck is wrong with me!” Korra said before he could answer. "I've memorised nearly all the practice forms, done the stupid leaf thing, but I can't even make a single fucking blast of air!" She was crying, her voice wobbling dangerously. "I'm just-- I'm such a failure."

"No, you're not!" said Tenzin sharply. His hands tightened on the reins in his frustration, his inability to go back there and hug her like she clearly needed. "You have a block; it's normal, Korra. For benders and nonbenders alike. You'll just need to get past it."

"Oh, yeah," said Korra, snorting wetly, "great advice. Thanks, Tenzin, I'll get right on that."

"I wasn't finished," Tenzin said. "My father had his teachers, just like you, but he also had his past lives to guide him. Have you ever made contact with any of them?"

He couldn't help but imagine that Kyoshi, at least, would have taken a shine to the latest boisterous incarnation.

"Of course I haven't," Korra croaked, then sniffled loudly. "Didn't Master Pottu tell you? I suck at the spiritual shit too."

Tenzin could have strangled Pottu. "You may have mistaken the connection for something else; a dream, a sense of deja vu--" A small gasp behind him made him perk up. "Yes?"

"I-- I've had a few weird hallucinations," Korra said hesitantly.

Tenzin couldn't help himself, turning at the waist to stare at her. Her face was wet, but she was no longer crying. "Did you see any previous Avatar?"

Korra nodded.

"Aang. He was in trouble; there was some guy, I think at a trial, and Aang was pissed off. What's it mean?"

Tenzin frowned and turned back around, urging Oogi down towards the island. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I think my father might be trying to tell you something. You should meditate on it."

"Meditation. Great," said Korra, but there was a tinge humour in the sarcastic words. It sounded something like hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, look, guys-- there is _a lot_ right now. I flunked my driver's test - ಠ╭╮ಠ - and I don't know when I can try again, because uhhhh my whole country is just kinda shutting down thanks to the Rona, _right_ on top of the holidays.
> 
> So right now, this fic'll have to be put on the back-burner because real life is kinda getting in the way. The next chapter _is_ basically written, the fic will not be abandoned, I just have to focus on some other things over the holidays. So I will see you all in the next year, and here's hoping things'll look a little brighter then.


	20. The Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin deals with an Equalist attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Hope everybody had a nice holiday! I also now have a twitter for those who are into that sort of thing, [@Lenticular17](https://twitter.com/Lenticular17), come right over.
> 
> DoubtingRabbit is still the shining star in the dark and I adore them forever.

The paper flopped onto Tenzin's desk, right on top of the form he was filling out, and he blinked, looking up to see a scowling Tarrlok. Then back down at the paper where a thick, black headline blared out,  _ Avatar Korra Bests Councilman at His Own Game! _ Beneath that was a picture of Korra grinning at the camera along with her three friends, a handful of tied up Equalists behind them.

"Looks like she's stealing your spotlight," he told Tarrlok mildly, looking back up once more.

"You talked her off my task force so she could create her own?" Tarrlok snapped.

"Of course not," Tenzin said, picking up the paper and scanning the article with a frown. "I've been trying to keep her away from this, but she insists." Then, to himself, "Those boys are a bad influence on her."

"Or," Tarrlok said, "it's the Equalist she's running around with that's conning her into it, trying to lead her into a trap. Did you consider that?"

Tenzin sighed and folded the paper, dropping it back on the desk.

"Asami's not an Equalist," he said.

Tarrlok scoffed.

"What exactly do you expect me to do about this?" asked Tenzin, giving the waterbender a narrow look.

"Control her!" Tarrlok spat. "Keep her off the streets, and out of my way!"

He couldn't help a laugh at that. "Control? Korra?"

Tarrlok's rage seemed to fade as he breathed deeply, but when he leaned on the desk and smiled at Tenzin, it was clear it had transformed into something else. Tenzin found himself leaning back in his chair, putting space between them.

"You get her under control," said Tarrlok very levelly, "or I'll take care of it myself. And you do not want that, Tenzin."

He pushed away from the desk and strode out.

"Tarrlok?" Tenzin called after him, but the only response was the slamming of his door.

Tenzin spent another three days in tense anticipation, only made worse when Tarrlok proposed - and passed - that ridiculous curfew for nonbenders.

_ Everything he does plays right into Amon's hands _ , came that treacherous little thought again.

Tenzin quashed it again.

Late in the evening, as he was preparing to head home, the shoe dropped. His telephone chimed so loudly, he nearly dropped his glider, and he turned to look at the gleaming apparatus with something like dread. Somehow he knew, though he could not say why, that this telephone call was the start of an avalanche.

The thing rang loudly again, the receiver rattling in its cradle, and Tenzin steeled himself before picking it up.

"This is Tenzin."

"Tenzin, he arrested them!" answered Korra's frantic voice. "That slimy fucking son of a bitch arrested my crew, and nobody'll tell me where they are!"

"Wait-- Korra? What are you--" Tenzin stammered. "Please, from the beginning; what happened?"

He could hear her take a deep breath, but her voice still shook as she said, "Okay, so me n' the boys n' Asami've been rounding up Equalists--"

"Which I expressly asked you not to," Tenzin said, unable to help himself.

“Will you just fucking listen?! Tarrlok was doin’ some shit in the Dragon Flats, and when we tried to stop him he arrested all of them! I’m down at the cops’ tryin’ to get someone to tell me anything, but nobody’s  _ fucking listening _ !” The last part was roared into the room at large.

Tenzin winced. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just-- try not to beat anyone up, Korra?”

“Better fuckin’ hurry, then.”

Tenzin did indeed hurry, racing through the cold, wet air. The sky was the colour of steel, heavy with unfallen snow, but he was damp when he landed, blasting the moisture from his clothes and marching into HQ where Korra was busy yelling at the receptionist who was clearly practiced at his role, ignoring her completely.

“Hey!” Korra slammed a fist into the counter. The receptionist simply stood up and walked away. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?!”

“Korra,” Tenzin said, putting a hand on her shoulder and catching the look of fury and concern warring on her face. “Have you heard anything?”

"No, nothing!" Korra spat, gesturing at the unbothered officers milling about. "These motherfuckers won't tell me anything!"

Tenzin spotted Saikhan in the crowd and squeezed Korra's shoulder.

"I'll take care of this," he promised. "Saikhan!" he called out. "A word please?"

Saikhan spotted him and Korra, and then, somewhat comically, looked around for an escape. Finding none, he squared his shoulders and marched to the receptionist's counter, as stilted in his walk as he'd been in his speech.

"Councilman Tenzin, we're real busy here tonight," he said. "Brought in a large catch of Equalists."

Korra scoffed loudly. Saikhan ignored her, giving Tenzin a look that was almost pleading.

"Can't this wait?" he tried.

"It cannot," replied Tenzin. "Three of the Avatar's companions were wrongly arrested tonight, and I'd very much like for you to release them. Immediately."

Saikhan pressed his lips together and shook his head, his pate gleaming with nervous sweat. "They're not going anywhere," he said tersely. "They were interfering with police business."

"Listen up, jackass," Korra spat, pushing herself across the counter to poke a finger at the newly minted Chief of Police, "that shit wasn't police business! It was you motherfuckers roundin' up innocent people, and all of them shouldn't be in jail either!"

"All Equalist suspects are detained indefinitely," Saikhan said, his expression growing long and mulish. "If they're deemed no longer a threat, then they can be released."

Tenzin laughed, disbelieving. "Without due process?" he demanded.

Saikhan shrugged, clearly not in the business of caring what happened after the arrest. "You'll have to take that up with Councilman Tarrlok," he said.

"Oh, I will," Tenzin said. "First thing in the morning; I hope you're ready to lose your plush new office,  _ Chief _ ."

"You're the worst fucking Chief ever!" Korra spat beside him. "Gonna fuckin' cheer when you get booted on your ass!"

Saikhan crossed his arms and scowled at them both, silent.

"Alright, Korra," said Tenzin, "we've said what we had to say. I'll get this sorted out." He gently herded Korra away from the counter, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Saikhan slump with relief.

The sight made him temper boil, and as they left, he snapped over his shoulder, "But you really  _ are _ the worst ever!"

"Unbelievable," Korra muttered as they left. "Just fuckin'-- how can they just do that, Tenzin?!"

"They can't," replied Tenzin, guiding her down the street towards the ferry. "Don't worry. I'll handle all of this tomorrow, get Tarrlok to back off."

"How the fuck can you work with that snake without killing him?" said Korra. It was more rhetorical than anything, but the question still nipped at Tenzin.

Yes, how to describe it to the Avatar herself? Because for every sneered demand from the Chairman, Tenzin had a memory of him smiling? Because for every argument, Tenzin remembered Tarrlok's laughter and the glitter in his eyes? Because for every greedy, power-hungry grasp, Tenzin recalled the feel of Tarrlok dozing against him, his hair in beautiful disarray?

"You get used to it," Tenzin said at last.

The ferry ride was silent, with Korra stewing beside him. She didn't even bother to greet the kids when they reached the island, stomping off to her room.

"What happened?" asked Jinora, looking from Korra up to Tenzin.

"Her friends were arrested," Tenzin said, patting her head. "Don't worry, sweetheart; I'll take care of things tomorrow."

"We heard about unrest on the radio," Pema said, greeting him with a kiss to the cheek. "Is everything okay?"

"No, it's-- things are tense, that's all," Tenzin said with a meaningful glance down at the three children listening.

Around them, the snow finally began falling.

"Hey, kids, who can catch the biggest snowflake on their tongue?" he prompted, trying for cheerful.

He was grateful that it worked, and soon all three of them were running around the docks, chasing the downy flakes.

"Things are getting worrisome," Tenzin said to Pema. "That's all. I fear Amon is gearing up for something big, and the rest of the Council is not helping."

Pema's green eyes grew wide, and her hand on his arm tightened. "Worse than the Arena?"

"I'll figure it out," Tenzin promised. "For now... I guess, try to keep as many of the acolytes on the island as possible."

She nodded, frowning towards the city sparkling in the distance. "Tenzin, could we-- could we stay together tonight?"

"You don't have to be afraid," Tenzin said. "Nobody's going to attack Air Temple Island."

"I know, but-- but I am. I am afraid," said Pema.

Tenzin looked at her, at the tense lines around her eyes and how she held her swollen belly, more protective than happy.

"Alright," he said. "Of course."

That night, Tenzin dreamt of snow; of a roaring blizzard that turned the world white and cold, and distantly he thought he heard Korra screaming. He pressed through the howling snow and there, a shadow in the white, stood Tarrlok, his braids whipping in the wind.

Tenzin reached and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around, and Tarrlok's face was a frozen mask, a blood-red sun imprinted on his forehead, and somewhere a bell was chiming, loud and panicked.

Tenzin woke to Meelo clambering across him and the telephone ringing.

"Who is this?" lisped Meelo, too-loudly. "It's six in the morning! This better be important!"

"Meelo, give me that," Tenzin groaned, heaving himself into a sitting position and taking the telephone out of his son's small hands. "Councilman Tenzin here," he said into the receiver, forcing his eyes open.

"Councilman?" said someone that Tenzin vaguely recognised as head of City Hall security. "It's the Avatar! She's been taken by the Equalists!"

That woke him up. "What?!" Tenzin demanded, swinging his legs off the bed. "No, she's-- she's here on the island!"

"No, sir," the man insisted, panic in his voice. "She was here and-- and they attacked Councilman Tarrlok and took the Avatar! Sir?"

The telephone clattered to the floor.

Tenzin ran off, still in his sleeping clothes. In any other situation, he would never dream of going into the women’s wing in the early morning, but now he raced through it, sliding open the door so sharply that it nearly knocked off its track.

The bed was tussled, but unslept in. The room was empty even of Naga. Tenzin felt sick.

A hurried dressing and frantic explanation later, Tenzin was making his way to City Hall, two thoughts warring for space in his head.

The Equalists had taken Korra.

They had attacked Tarrlok.

Even now, Korra could be face to face with her worst nightmare; even now Amon could be crippling her, breaking her, an example to the rest of the world of just what he was capable of.

Even now, Tarrlok could be lying bleeding, destroyed; even now he could be dead. The security officer had said nothing else.

City Hall was crawling with police officers, but they gave way to let Tenzin through. He hurried into the Council chamber, only to stop up short; the whole of the vast, beautiful space was a ruin. Scorch marks marred the cracked columns, the wall and gallery by Tarrlok's office entirely destroyed. Even the floor was marked by cracks and craters. And Tarrlok--

Tarrlok was alive.

He sat on the dais, his clothing torn and hair loose, a smear of dried blood beneath his nose. A healer was fussing over him, but he was alive.

Tenzin was half-running before he knew it, his voice ringing in the ruined chamber, "What happened?!"

A man speaking to Tarrlok half turned, and Tenzin belatedly realised it was Saikhan, but it was Tarrlok he cared about. The waterbender looked exhausted, but his eyes filled with gratitude at the sight of Tenzin, and he was able to push onto his feet.

"Careful," said the healer, but Tarrlok waved him off.

"I was just telling Chief Saikhan," Tarrlok said, his voice raw. He cleared his throat. "Korra came by my office last night; she wanted me to release her friends. We-- we argued." He swallowed and looked away, and Tenzin clenched his hands to keep from reaching out to him.

"The Equalists must have known," Tarrlok continued, low and bitter, "because they attacked when we were distracted."

Tenzin looked around at the crumbling mess around them. It certainly looked like something Korra would do.

"But--" he started to say.

"There were so many of them," Tarrlok said, meeting Tenzin's eyes. Guilt flickered over his features. "I tried to protect her, Tenzin. I did. But..." He looked down at his arm where a wound stood out starkly against his dark skin. The shape unmistakeable, an electrified glove.

"You did what you could, sir," said Saikhan, but even his reassurance sounded stilted.

Tarrlok rubbed his eyes and tried to push back his hair to little avail.

"When I came to, the police were here, but Korra wasn't. I'm sorry, Tenzin."

Even now, Amon could be towering over a kneeling Korra, even now he could be stealing from her all her power. Tenzin fought back vertigo.

"Chief Saikhan," Tarrlok was saying, "mobilise the entire force. We have to find her."

"Yes, sir," said the Chief and hurried away.

"Tenzin," said Tarrlok.

Tenzin realised that he'd never heard the waterbender so uncertain. "You look like a mess," was the best Tenzin could think to say to him.

Tarrlok smiled, but it quickly faded as he rubbed at the dried blood under his nose.

"Oh. Oh, disgusting," he muttered. "I see what you mean."

"Come on," Tenzin said, for a moment reaching to take his arm before thinking better of it. "I'll help you get cleaned up."

"Thank you," said Tarrlok. He sounded dazed, and Tenzin found himself looking around for hints of blood in his hair. Nothing.

They made their way through the rubble, Tenzin directing Tarrlok down towards one of the more private bathrooms, reserved usually for Councilmembers and esteemed guests. "What happened?" Tenzin said quietly, as he opened a door in an airy, marble-clad room.

"I already told you," Tarrlok said, a spark of irritation - of  _ himself _ \- returning to his voice.

"No, I mean-- well, yes," said Tenzin, "but I meant in detail."

He moved to the sink, soaking one of the small hand towels in cold water. Behind him Tarrlok sighed, and in the mirror Tenzin could see him slump against the wall.

"She burst in through my damn window and started yelling about her friends," Tarrlok said.

Tenzin chuckled slightly, brittle, and beckoned him over. "That sounds like Korra. Here..." He gently cupped Tarrlok's chin and dabbed at the dried blood as carefully as he could, but it still got him a wince. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Tarrlok muttered. He had a burgeoning bruise at the temple and, Tenzin imagined, a splitting headache to match. "We argued, I tried to get her back on the task force, she called me a shit stick and accused me of only arresting her friends as extortion."

Tenzin knew Tarrlok rather well by now, and asked, "Did you?"

Tarrlok shrugged and nodded. "Well, yeah."

"You're unbelievable." Tenzin dropped the hand towel, letting go of Tarrlok's chin.

He expected a snide comment, but got none. Instead Tarrlok avoided his eyes, brows drawing together.

"They attacked then,” he said. “Both of us were distracted, I barely even heard the door, just thought it was--" He broke off and frowned at the floor.

"How many were there?" Tenzin said.

Tarrlok snorted. "I didn't count," he said. "They were just suddenly there and we were fighting. I-- Korra screamed, I turned to look and that's when they got me. I tried, Tenzin; I really did."

"I know," said Tenzin soothingly. "I know you did."

He leaned in and kissed Tarrlok softly, and for a moment Tarrlok responded before pulling back, face turned away. "You should go home," Tenzin said, brushing an errant lock of hair out of his downturned face. "Get some rest. I'll take care of things here."

Tarrlok made a noise that Tenzin thought for a fearful moment was a sob, but when the waterbender raised his head, his eyes were dry and he was smiling ruefully.

"You'll keep me updated?"

"Of course," Tenzin said.

Tarrlok nodded and it was him initiating the kiss this time, more hesitant than Tenzin had even known him to be capable of, and there was a tremble in his hands when they came up to rest on Tenzin's chest. A shameful part of Tenzin drank it all in, this unusual vulnerability, even as he was unsure of what to do with it. His body, however, took over, his hands slipping down to rest on Tarrlok's slender hips and pulling him close, deepening the kiss.

Tarrlok broke the kiss again, but stayed close enough for Tenzin's to feel his breath against his lips. "The door is open," Tarrlok said, nearly a whisper.

Fear froze up Tenzin's body for a moment, and his eyes snapped to the yawning door. No one was standing there, camera in hand, and at least he hadn't heard anyone walk by. He swallowed and let the fear fade.

"So it is," he said. He pulled away from Tarrlok, reluctant, and moved to shut it.

Tarrlok's laugh was shaky. "I thought I needed rest."

Tenzin turned back to him, to his bruised face and hooded eyes and strange uncertainty, and held out his arms.

For once there was no argument, and Tarrlok clung to him awkwardly and desperately, as if he wasn't used to being comforted, but wanted it.

"No one's going to blame you," Tenzin promised into Tarrlok's hair. "You did everything you could. We're going to find Korra again."

A tremble ran through the waterbender. "You sound very sure."

"I'd be surprised if she hadn't already punched her way through Amon when we find her," Tenzin said, forcing some humour into his voice. "You know how she is."

"Do I?" asked Tarrlok, his tone vague, and Tenzin drew back to look him over again.

"Did you hit your head?" he asked, gently prodding through thick chestnut hair. "You're acting strange."

Tarrlok stared at him, his eyes red and searching. "I'm sorry," he said finally, distantly, as if he was apologising for some other great sin.

"I told you," Tenzin said, "no one can blame--" and Tarrlok silenced him with a kiss hard enough that Tenzin's shoulder blades thumped back against the door.

Tarrlok's slender hands on his neck, Tarrlok's hair falling in both their eyes, Tarrlok's tongue pressing past his lips--

"Tarrlok, Tarrlok, wait," Tenzin gasped, trying to push him back without hurting him further. "I think you have a concussion; you need to--"

"Touch me," Tarrlok hissed in his ear, low and trembling. " _ Please. _ "

Despite his concern, Tenzin found himself obeying, hands roaming over Tarrlok's chest and trembling shoulders, gliding through the gaps of his rumbled clothes. The waterbender's skin was cold, as if he'd been outside in the frosty air instead of recovering inside.

"M-maybe you're in shock--"

Tarrlok laughed, the sound harsh and short against Tenzin's cheek. "Don't you think the healer would have noticed?"

"But you're cold."

"So?" Tarrlok demanded, drawing back to give him a look that wanted to be deprecating, but ended up searching. "Warm me."

They were kissing again, and each warm puff of Tarrlok's breath drove the reservations further from Tenzin's mind. Cool, slender fingers insinuated themselves into Tenzin's robes, making him gasp, but Tarrlok pressed him more firmly against the door, the kiss tart with teeth.

Tenzin supposed, in a haze of arousal, that he would be glad to lend Tarrlok his warmth, and his own hands grazed over the skin of Tarrlok's stomach, pressing against the chill. Tarrlok's breath huffed shakily across his lips, and Tenzin broke the kiss, his thumbs trailing the lines of Tarrlok's hips.

"Tarrlok," he started, but the waterbender shifted, pressed close, grinding up against Tenzin sharply. Tenzin wasn't even yet hard, his arousal mixed with concern and slow to burn, but it drove a rough gasp from him.

"Tenzin," Tarrlok said, voice both mocking and raw, and followed it with a bite to his lip. His hands slipped down, cupped Tenzin's cock through the linen and squeezed. "Getting old, are we?"

"Don't-- don't you start," Tenzin stammered, tensing. "You should be resting...!"

"You shouldn't have closed the door," Tarrlok said.

"What's gotten into you?" Tenzin demanded, pushing Tarrlok back. The waterbender turned his head away, refusing to look at him entirely, a pout sweetly at odds with the disarray of his vest and shirt. "Tarrlok?"

"Maybe you're right," Tarrlok said breezily. "I should go home and rest."

Ten years on and, despite Tarrlok's best effort, Tenzin had a decent feel for his emotions. "You're afraid," he said finally, softly. "The Equalists are gone; you're safe."

Tarrlok made a noise that wanted to be a scoff, but didn't quite make it past a cough. "I'm-- I'm not afraid of the Equalists-- can you let go?"

"Then what are you afraid of?" Tenzin demanded, but he only dropped his hands to take Tarrlok's.

"We're not working through my chakras now," said Tarrlok, his voice acidic. "Either you help me get off, or you let me leave." His eyes were still red, bruise-like smudges underneath, and there were lines of tension suddenly that Tenzin hadn't noticed before.

It was as if Tarrlok was fraying at the edges, a wrong move away from falling apart. After a moment, Tenzin made his decision and cupped Tarrlok's jaw - sharp and handsome and trembling under Tenzin's fingers - pulling him close again. Tarrlok's desperation was palpable as he fell back into the kiss, and Tenzin let it wash over him. It was almost automatic, the way they both pulled aside belts and pushed away fabric, spurred on by Tarrlok's obvious need.

Tarrlok broke the kiss briefly, glancing down as he pushed aside the last obstacles, and then he pressed in close again, mouth and prick both. Tenzin could feel it, warm and half hard, beside his own. It was awkward and clumsy, but Tenzin shifted into it even so.

Tarrlok rolled his hips, his sex pressing against Tenzin's, driving a low, choked noise from him. His hands dug at the small of Tarrlok's back, bunching up the coat in his fists, and he could feel the grit and rubble from the council chamber in the fabric. Long fingers curling in Tenzin's collar in turn, the waterbender moaned against his lips, rocking leisurely.

It was good and warm and  _ friction _ , but it wasn't enough--

Tenzin uncurled one fist with difficulty, sliding it between their bodies - his own warm skin and Tarrlok's cold stomach - and wrapping it clumsily around both their cocks. Closer.

"Yes," hissed Tarrlok, his teeth closing around Tenzin's bottom lip.

Tenzin let him move as he wanted, rocking into his fist, grinding against Tenzin's shaft, driving them both harder. With a small noise of pain, Tenzin tugged his lip free of Tarrlok's teeth and demanded a real kiss, tongue dallying over the waterbender's.

Tarrlok's hands trembled, clutched in collar and cape, but he moaned and shifted closer, his prick twitching and warm. A loose lock of chestnut hair fell across Tarrlok's face as he tilted his head, and Tenzin could smell lilacs and smoke and, faintly, a bitter tinge of metal.

Tarrlok growled and pulled back, hips falling still, to irritably push the hair out of his face.

Then it was Tarrlok's shoulders hard against the door, and Tenzin only realised that it was him who had turned them, who had pinned the waterbender against the moulded wood, when Tarrlok's eyes widened at him and his mouth opened to talk; likely to tell Tenzin off, knowing him.

Tenzin forestalled it with another kiss, muffling any words into a moan, and rocked hard against Tarrlok's cock, his fingers tightening around them both. Tarrlok's hands clamped onto his shoulders hard enough to hurt, even through three layers of fabric, but the whine bubbling in Tarrlok's throat made the pain secondary.

Tenzin pressed him more firmly against the door, pinning him with an arm across his chest and the increasing force of his thrusts.

_ That part of him is warm, at least, _ came a hysterical thought, and Tenzin would have laughed if Tarrlok hadn't made a raw noise that made Tenzin's scalp prickle and his cock jump.

The waterbender broke the kiss, turning his head to gasp for breath, his hips jolting stiltedly. His skin had darkened further in a blush, almost enough to disguise the bruise.

"Just--"

Tenzin mouthed at the stretched tendons of his neck, pressing him tighter against the door. Tarrlok's hands were flitting around, clutching at Tenzin's shoulders, his arm, his chest, overwhelmed.

"Tenzin," Tarrlok gasped, and his hands clenched onto the arm across his chest, manicured nails digging into Tenzin's flesh through layers of linen.

Tarrlok's pulse was beating frantically under Tenzin's lips, and he mouthed at it with a low moan, running his thumbs over the heads of their pricks, spreading the beads of moisture he found there.

With a throaty growl, Tarrlok stiffened against him and warm come spurted over his wrist and down his fingers.

Tenzin paused, even as his own sex strained and throbbed, to look over Tarrlok. The waterbender was still flushed, his eyes dark with arousal, slumped back against the door. Like this, satisfied and loose, the exhaustion was almost invisible.

"Tarrlok...?"

"Mm," Tarrlok hummed before taking a deep breath, his eyes focusing again. He met Tenzin's eyes briefly before looking away, nudging at the hand Tenzin had curled around them and dropping to his knees.

"You don't have to," Tenzin started, but then warm, bruised lips were sucking him down, and it became hard to speak. He gritted his teeth and leaned his soiled hand against the door.

There was little of Tarrlok's usual flourishes; just a hand clamped on Tenzin's hip and a warm throat taking Tenzin's cock fast and eager. Hesitantly, Tenzin rested his clean hand on Tarrlok's mussed hair and was rewarded with a low moan, reverberating pleasant around his shaft.

"That's--" he gasped, fingers tightening.

Tarrlok sucked him down to the root, noisily, tight around him, and hummed.

Tenzin's breath caught harshly, and he slumped back, head resting on the doorframe, his hips jerking forward despite the iron-grip on his hip. Tarrlok took it, let him fuck his mouth, and swallowed (politely) as he came.

Only when Tenzin's hips stuttered to a halt did he draw back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Tenzin took a moment to breathe before offering a hand, helping the waterbender to his unsteady feet. Guilt curdled his stomach; maybe he should have insisted on sending Tarrlok home immediately instead of giving in to his needling.

"Are you alright?"

"Stop asking," Tarrlok said, hoarse. He cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He set about getting his clothes back in order. Tenzin did the same, eyeing him worriedly; despite his best effort, Tarrlok was swaying slightly. 

"You should get home," Tenzin said. "Get some rest."

"Mm," Tarrlok said with a small nod, moving to the mirror to check himself.

"Do you want me to help you?" offered Tenzin.

Tarrlok scoffed.

"Please," he said. "I'm not an invalid. It's not far."

"Well, alright," said Tenzin unsurely. There was no point in debating Tarrlok in this mood, but that did nothing to quell his concern.

Tarrlok made for the door, and Tenzin stopped him, hand closing gently around his wrist.

"I'll call you," he said. "And I'll keep you updated, and we'll find Korra. I promise."

Tarrlok didn't look at him.

"I'm sure," he said, once again distant. Then he tugged free and was out the door before Tenzin could say anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uhhhh, you may have noticed the chapter number going up. To quote Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien, the tale grew in the telling, and I've had to add extra chapters and split up some chapters that were getting too long (this was actually one of them; next week's chapter was originally part of this one).
> 
> So, uh... the fic's gettin' longer. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	21. The Unmasking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin learns the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is my aeroplane.

“Sir, I promise, we have been scouring every known location--”

“Why aren’t you looking for new locations?” Tenzin demanded.

The voice on the phone, already weedy, only grew higher and more frantic as the officer said, “We’re trying to get the Equalists we caught to talk but they’re not cooperating!”

“Isn’t there--” Tenzin was saying when his door slammed open, and in marched the motley assortment; Lin, the two pro-bending boys and Miss Sato. Tenzin stared at them for a confused second before hurriedly saying into the phone, “I have to go. Call me the minute you hear anything.”

“Yes, s--” was all he heard of the reply before he hung up. Lin looked amused.

"Wha-- what're you-- what--" Tenzin stammered, "you-- you should be in the hospital, Lin! And you three!" The earthbending boy, at least, had the good grace to look ashamed. "You should be in prison!"

"Figured you could use our help in finding Korra," said Lin, ignoring every word out of his mouth.

The firebender - Tenzin had to learn their names at some point - stepped forward, clearly not to be outdone, and demanded, "Do you have any leads?!"

"Are you--" Tenzin sputtered. He stopped himself, took a deep breath and let himself dwell in the fact that the world was hurtling out of control. "No," he said mildly. "I've been on the telephone all morning, but there's nothing yet."

The boy made an eager movement, eyes growing suddenly wide.

"Naga!" he said. "We need Naga! She can track Korra!"

He was so gratified with himself that Tenzin almost felt bad saying, "The polar bear-dog is gone too. We searched Air Temple Island."

"Then where do we start?" said the earthbender.

Lin huffed and said, "Underground. There's a maze of tunnels under this city, and if Sato's any indication, the Equalists are happy to use them."

Sato's daughter stayed silent, but Tenzin didn't miss the sudden hurt on her face, or how her gaze dropped to the ground.

"Yeah, that makes sense!" said the earthbender, oblivious to her reaction. "When those chi-blockers took me, the truck drove down into a tunnel!"

"I know where to start looking," said his brother, practically vibrating with energy. "Come on!" And he was off, his brother in tow, and Miss Sato trailing after them after only a moment's hesitation.

Lin watched them go, then glanced at Tenzin. "Wherever that masked lunatic has Korra, I'm betting my men are there too."

"Then let's get them home," Tenzin said, standing. "Before those two boys bring the whole city down around our ears."

Finding the tunnel was surprisingly easy, as was sneaking through the base. The whole place seemed to be operating on a skeleton crew, which Tenzin realised - with a cold chill down his spine - made sense. The average Equalist would be busy in their dayjob, going about Republic City like a normal citizen; unrecognisable outside of their uniforms.

They found Lin's men easily enough, though too late to save their bending, but there was no sign of Korra at all. Tenzin felt something roiling inside him, something cold and ashy, as he went from cell to empty cell.

"Could he be keeping her separately?" he asked himself, but it was Miss Sato who answered.

"That means he'd have to have even more prison complexes through-out the city," she said, her features pinching slightly. "Possible, I suppose, with my father's help."

Tenzin looked around at the area; it was sizable, capable of warehousing at least a hundred prisoners if not more, and he forced himself not to dwell on what that meant for Amon's plans.

A pair of very unlucky Equalists turned up in their path as they rounded a corner, and Tenzin acted on instinct, calling forth a whirlwind to slam them into the wall.

Then that firebending boy, ever impulsive, rushed in and grabbed one, yanking the goggled mask off.

"Where is she?!" he all but screamed at the dazed Equalist.

"Quiet!" hissed Lin, herding her freed officers ahead of her. "You'll bring the whole compound down on us!"

The Equalist glanced at her and then back at the firebender, opening his mouth to yell before getting slammed back into the wall, his head thudding dully against the brick. Tenzin hid a wince.

"I'll ask again," the boy growled, more sedate but no less furious, "where is Korra?" Flames crept up his hands, flickering in the Equalist's wide eyes, singing the hair on his brows.

"W-we don't have her," he breathed. "We didn't attack City Hall. Tarrlok's lying."

That cold coil in Tenzin's chest squeezed like a snake, and the foreboding crashed on him like a wave.

_Tarrlok's lying._

The guilt, the constant reassurances that he had done what he could.

_Tarrlok's lying._

They had argued, and how could an argument between Korra - tempestuous Korra in a fury - and Tarrlok - ever grasping, ever desperate for power, for admiration - do anything but turn violent?

_"You get her under control, or I'll take care of it myself,"_ rose Tarrlok's voice in Tenzin's memory, trembling with cold anger.

_Tarrlok's lying._

"He has her," Tenzin said with the dread of certainty. "Tarrlok took her. He has Korra."

They stared at him for a second, the dazed Equalist slipping from the firebender's grasp.

"That son of a bitch," Lin spat. "He fooled all of us."

A siren started wailing, echoing through-out the compound. As they rushed to escape, at least Tenzin had that to focus on; dodging chi-blockers and rushing off with everyone else left very little room for thinking about how right Lin was.

_Tarrlok's lying._

Ten years. Ten years of seeing Tarrlok use every trick, every underhanded tactic to get his way, and yet to think he'd be capable of this-- Tenzin had always known he was a good actor, but that good?

Or had Tenzin simply wanted to be fooled?

By dawn, sore from their escape and exhausted from a night without sleep, Tenzin had given up on keeping his doubts at bay.

Still, when the rest of the Council gathered that morning - sans Tarrlok - Tenzin drew on what was left of his dignity and went to greet them. He tried not to think, tried not to care, of the panic Tarrlok would feel when, very soon, the police knocked down his door.

He felt, oddly, as if he was walking to sign Tarrlok's death warrant, rather than simply arranging for his arrest. Guilt and anger and betrayal warred in his chest.

Zirsa and Nakada chatted amiably, as if they weren’t standing by the edge of a massive crater in the floor. Saikhan stood at attention, as awkward in that as in everything else, somehow both sweaty and barely awake. Only Guan Ting seemed to realise something was off, watching the door intently and straightening up as Tenzin led the way for his contingent into the large chamber.

"Thank you for coming here on such a short notice," Tenzin said, forcing his voice steady and awake. "I know it's very early.”

Beside him Lin was glaring daggers at Saikhan, who was trying his level best to return the favour. And failing entirely.

"Are you alright, Tenzin?" asked Zirsa, all motherly concern. "Who are...?" She gestured vaguely at Miss Sato and the two boys.

"Introductions will have to wait," Tenzin said. "We have to discuss something--"

Footsteps from behind him, as familiar as his own.

_No,_ thought Tenzin.

"Have you any news of Korra?" came Tarrlok's voice, soft and concerned.

_You shouldn't be here,_ thought Tenzin, turning to face his lover - Korra’s kidnapper - with a lump in his throat. Tarrlok's face was drawn in worry, his hands folded nervously in front of him; the very image of concern.

"We do," Tenzin said.

"You kidnapped her!" spat the firebender to his left.

_Prove us wrong,_ though Tenzin. _Prove you wouldn't do this._

Tarrlok's brows raised and his mouth dropped open in a perfect mimicry of outrage, a hand held to his chest, and Tenzin felt sick.

"I am shocked," Tarrlok said, "that you would accuse me of this! I already told you!" His eyes turned to look at Tenzin, pleading. "The Equalists attacked us and took her!"

_Tarrlok's lying._

"But there were no Equalists here last night," spat Lin, taking a step towards him. "You planted the evidence, didn't you?"

The hurt that flickered across Tarrlok's face almost broke Tenzin.

"That is a ridiculous accusation," the waterbender said. His act of wounded innocence was almost good enough for Tenzin to believe it.

And Tenzin wanted to believe it.

"It's true!" someone cried. "He took her!" Up in the gallery, half hidden behind a pillar, Tarrlok's odd-voiced aide was looking down at them, his eyes even wider behind thick glasses. He looked around at them, glancing at Tarrlok and paling.

“Excuse me?!” demanded Tarrlok, all that hurt innocence transforming into anger.

"I was here when the Avatar arrived last night, but the Chairman told me to leave,” the aide said, nearly tripping over his words. “I was heading out when I saw him take the Avatar down to the garage!" His strange, high voice trembled in fear.

Tenzin felt a cold sort of worry. The way the aide's eyes skipped away from Tarrlok, the way his fear was palpable--

"That's nonsense," Tarrlok spat. "You're an obnoxious liar, and I'll see to it that you'll never find work in this city again!"

"Why didn't you come forward with this immediately?" demanded Lin, ignoring Tarrlok entirely.

The aide almost vanished behind the pillar again, his voice quavering as he said, "I was scared. I was scared to tell, because... Tarrlok's a bloodbender!"

Tenzin felt like the air was sucked from the room, like the floor was crumbling beneath him, like his heart was crushed in his chest.

"He bloodbent the Avatar!" said the aide, leveling an accusing finger down, down at Tarrlok.

Tenzin looked at Tarrlok, at his dark skin and intricate braids, at his well-loved mouth and eyes, at his sly smiles and witty words and endless needling, and waited for the waterbender to laugh. To brush off an accusation so ridiculous.

Tarrlok stared back at him, eyes wide in fear.

"Tarrlok," Tenzin said.

There was no answer, only Tarrlok's frantic breathing as he looked around. Looking for an escape.

"Don't move," Lin said, snapping into a fighting stance, her spools creaking. Around them, out of the corner of his eyes, Tenzin saw the others do the same, and knew he should follow, but he felt frozen, unmoored.

Tarrlok took a step back.

"Give yourself up," Lin gritted through her teeth, "and lead us to Korra. _Now_ , bloodbender."

"Don't make this worse for yourself," Tenzin pleaded, voice low, and Tarrlok met his eyes briefly.

For a moment, they all stood there silent.

Then, in a breath, everything happened at once.

Lin's spools whirred as she shot out her wires. Flames singed the air both to Tenzin's left, from the boy, and from behind, from Zirsa. Tenzin forced himself, calling forth a blast of wind to knock Tarrlok back, knock him out, end this as painlessly as possible before the waterbender was hit with anything worse. Tarrlok flinched, throwing up his arms as if to shield himself.

And then Tenzin's body was not his own.

It felt like iron wires running through his muscles, twisting and bending to the whim of some mad metalworker. It felt like fire in his skin, splotches of red spreading just beneath the surface like bruises. It felt like a hand constricting around his ribcage, squeezing and pulling like a child with a doll. Tenzin croaked in pain as he was forced to his knees, and around him he could glimpse the others doing the same. And Tarrlok, his arms raised, his fingers moving like a spider rat's legs, twisting and curling unnaturally.

The monster out of the very darkest fairy tales Tenzin's mother had told.

Tarrlok clenched his hands and brought them slowly to his chest, his eyes wide. Tenzin thought he saw tears spill, and then the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP.


	22. Crumbling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin tries not to fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> St. DoubtingRabbit, patron saint of gayness and beta-ing.

Tarrlok’s trail had gone cold at the doors to City Hall. The guard on duty only knew that the Chairman had rushed out, distressed, and disappeared in the opposite direction of his usual walk home.

No one else had seen him, no one else could offer any clue to where he’d gone.

The police were mustered, Tarrlok’s his ruined office filled to the brim with harried aides as papers were gone through in minute detail, and Tenzin had taken Oogi to the skies, with Lin and Korra’s friends bundled worried and silent in the saddle.

Korra had to be found and a bloodbender apprehended, and Tenzin could not afford to break.

But then, repression was something he had plenty of practice at.

It wasn’t until that night they found Korra, slumped in Naga’s saddle, bruised and bloodied... and entirely alone.

“Korra!” Tenzin called, landing beside the polar bear-dog.

She barely responded, a twitch of her fingers and a slight raise of her head.

“What happened?” demanded Lin, jumping off the bison. “Where’s the bloodbender?”

“Does she look like she’s in any condition to tell you?!” spat the firebender, shoving past Lin to pull Korra from Naga’s back.

Lin looked ready to punt him bodily across the road, but Tenzin put a skittish hand on her shoulder.

“He’s right,” he said, reluctant. “She needs rest. Look at her.”

Lin made a rough sound, irritation and disappointment all rolled into one, before she let it drop. 

Even so, it was all Tenzin could do late the next morning to watch Korra scarf down a hearty meal. She clearly needed it; not even a single complaint about the lack of meat. Tenzin clenched his hands together under the low table.

"This tastes so fuckin' amazin', Pema," Korra said around a mouthful of rice. Pema flinched at her language, but didn't correct her. "I'm finally startin' to feel like myself again!"

Bits of rice and half-chewed vegetable spewed onto the table, but the Avatar gamely kept eating. Pema carefully gathered up the plates Korra had already emptied.

"We're just so thankful you're back safe," she said, standing with some effort.

"Oh, here," said Miss Sato hurriedly, cupping a hand under Pema's elbow. "I'll help."

The two of them shuffled off to the kitchen, and Tenzin finally ran out of patience.

"Korra, I realise you've been through a lot," he said, "but I need to know everything that happened."

Korra swallowed a too-large mouthful of food, coughing a bit, sending a few more grains of rice flying. "Well, first of all," she said hoarsely, "Tarrlok ain't who he claims to be. He's the son of this guy called Yakone."

Tenzin's stomach clenched, and beside him he heard Lin swear under her breath. Yakone? But Tarrlok hated Yakone. Always used him as an example of the very worst, the personification of everything Tarrlok was fighting. But then... if a dutiful father made for a loving son, what would a father like Yakone create?

Ten years. Ten years, and Tenzin hadn't ever--

"This guy who could, like, bloodbend even without the full moon," Korra continued blithely. "Aang took his bending and--"

"We all know who Yakone is," Lin cut her off. "It makes sense, though. Tarrlok's got the same freak mutation."

Tenzin breathed sharply, nearly a gasp.

"But how did you escape?" he managed. "And-- and where's Tarrlok now?" He was aware that Lin was giving him a sharp look, but he couldn't think about that now.

Korra fidgeted, put down her chopsticks. "Amon took him," she said finally, a tremble of fear in her voice. "Just-- showed up suddenly, took Tarrlok's bending before sending his goons down after me, and I used that to get away. I think--" She bit her lip, brows drawing together.

"Go ahead," prodded Lin.

Good thing too, because Tenzin couldn't think past  _ Amon took him _ .

Amon took his bending, took him away. Where was he? Was he safe? Should Tenzin even care? He pressed his nails into the palm of his hand and forced himself to listen.

"From what I could hear-- I was stuck in a metal box in the basement. Uh, Tarrlok's got this cabin, that basement," Korra stammered. Lin made an impatient sound, so the Avatar forged on. "From what I could hear, Tarrlok tried to bloodbend the Equalists, but it didn't work on Amon. He just... walked right through it."

"That's impossible," breathed Tenzin.

"It is, right?" Korra said, looking at him pleadingly. "Only the Avatar State can break bloodbending, right? So how did he do it, Tenzin?!"

"So he can take bending," piped up the earthbending boy, "and he can break through bloodbending. Maybe he's like..." His green eyes widened. "The Anti-Avatar!"

There was a moment of silence. Then his brother said, "That's dumb, Bolin."

Tenzin ignored them, clasping his hands together tightly. "This is disturbing news," he said.

"Which part?" asked Lin, sounding a little overwhelmed.

"All of it," said Tenzin. "That Amon has this ability, too. That he's growing bold enough to go after Councilmembers. Trying to capture Korra. And," his voice caught briefly and, hopefully, imperceptibly, "that Yakone's son infiltrated the Council."

"Always knew something was fucky about that fop," muttered Korra, poking at the remnants of her rice as if she could barely remember her hunger.

Lin leaned her head into her hands, eyes squeezing shut for a moment. "I get the distinct feeling that this is about to get worse," she said from behind gritted teeth.

Korra and the boys glanced from her to Tenzin with concern written on their faces. Tenzin sighed.

"Likely, yes," he said. "If Amon's getting this brave, I fear his plans are coming to fruition."

"Fuck," Korra said faintly, reaching for her cup and finding it empty.

"I'll get you some more," the firebender said, uncrossing his lanky legs and scrambling up.

Korra didn't seem to notice him go, leaning across the table.

"He said he was saving me for last, Tenzin," she said, tremulous.

"It won't get to that," Tenzin assured her quickly. "He'd have to get through all of us first, not to mention the White Lotus."

She didn't seem convinced, but she also didn't argue.

The earthbender - Bolin, Tenzin reminded himself firmly - nudged her. "Don't worry about ol' mask-face," he said. "Even if he is the Anti-Avatar, that just means he'll blow up if he tries to take your bending."

Korra snickered. "Thanks, Bolin."

Tenzin rubbed his temples. "I need to get back to City Hall," he said, "get this mess sorted out. Talk to the press, get a telegram to Chief Unalaq."

"My uncle?" asked Korra, some curiosity peeking through the fear. "Why?"

"Well, he's the one paying most of Tarrlok's salary," said Tenzin as he stood. "I think he'll appreciate knowing there's no need. Oh, yes, and also that his representative is-- was a bloodbender."

"Have you met him?" Korra asked, clearly ignoring everything but the existence of her mysterious uncle.

"I-- no. I have not," Tenzin stammered. "Only corresponded. Is this important right now?"

Korra shrugged, seeming to realise the situation she was in again, and Tenzin felt bad at the way curious joy melted from her face.

"No. No, you're right."

"Maybe when this is all done, we can meet him together," Tenzin offered. "For now, you should rest."

"Right, yeah," said Korra, putting on a smile, "of course."

Tenzin turned to go, nearly bumping into a very wide-eyed Pema.

"Oh! I have to go into the city, dear, so if you-- are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes!" Pema assured him, nodding a little too hard.

Tenzin stared at her for a moment longer, searching her face, coming up empty.

"Good," he said finally. "Alright. Lin, could we talk for a second?"

Lin looked up at him, eyebrow raised, then pushed herself upright with a huff. "Sure."

That got him a narrow look from Pema and he kissed her cheek. "I'll see you when I get back," he promised, which did nothing to soothe the suspicious expression from her face.

Something between guilt and hysteria stabbed at his chest. If only she knew that it wasn’t Lin she had cause to be suspicious of. And not Tarrlok anymore either, he supposed. The guilt became something suspiciously like grief, and he pushed it away.

The courtyard was bright in the late morning sun, and the air was pleasantly crisp, little piles of snow still thawing the shadows. Tenzin breathed deeply, trying to clear his head and soothe his emotions, to anchor himself in the current moment.

"Alright, what do you want?" Lin demanded from behind him.

He turned to face her with a smile he hoped was winsome, and knew was awkward.

She watched him with something different from her usual hostility; an expectant sort of curiosity, but now was not the time.

"I, uh-- I need to-- to ask you a favour," he stammered. "It would mean the world to me, Lin, it really would, but I also totally understand that-- that you might be uncomfortable and unhappy with it, and I would never want to--"

"Just fucking tell me!"

"Will you stay here and watch over Pema and the kids?" Tenzin blurted out in one breath. "I just-- with everything that's happened, if Amon came for them, and I wasn't here--"

"Breathe between sentences," said Lin.

"I just want to be sure they're in safe hands," he finished.

The thought of losing them too, of Amon breaking them down as he had those pro-benders, as he had Tarrlok-- Tenzin swallowed down nausea.

Lin glared at him for a second. Then a rare smile broke out on her face, and she tapped his shoulder with her fist. "'course I will, Tenzin. Not even a question."

Tenzin slumped with relief, returning the smile.

"Thank you, Lin."

"What are you two talking about?" Pema demanded from the wooden pavilion.

Tenzin jumped. Lin didn't.

"Pema!" he sputtered. "Yes, uh, this-- yes-- I'm glad you're here!"

Pema came towards them and cradling Meelo between her arm and belly and with an inscrutable look on her face.

"Lin has agreed to help out here and keep an eye on everything while I'm gone," Tenzin babbled, gesturing at the former Chief of Police as if her very presence backed him up.

Pema's face brightened, and she beamed at Lin, all suspicion gone and replaced with seemingly earnest joy.

"Oh, thank you!" she gushed at an uncomfortable-looking Lin. "I could really use the help. Meelo needs a bath, so would you?" And she deposited their youngest, and filthiest, child in Lin's arms.

"What," said Lin flatly, looking down at Meelo with horror.

"Thank you so much, Lin!" said Tenzin, half-running for Oogi.

"Tenzin, get back here!" she yelled. "I didn't sign up for baths!"

But Tenzin was already astride the bison, urging him up into the sky and into full speed.

As he rose above the bay, Tenzin finally allowed himself to fully accept what he now knew; that Tarrlok - clever, eager, beautiful Tarrlok - had used him from the very beginning. For power, for clout, perhaps even for vengeance; some twisted revenge against Tenzin's father for what he had done to Yakone.

The thought made him sick to his stomach. He had thought that, for once, with Tarrlok, he had found someone uninterested in his lineage and heritage, someone who'd desired only Tenzin himself. That, for once, Tenzin the person had mattered more than Tenzin, the last airbender. Tenzin, son of the Avatar.

But then, hadn't Tarrlok always known which weak spot to aim for? He had read Tenzin like an open book.

Tenzin found it hard to swallow past the lump in his throat suddenly, his knuckles whitening on Oogi's reins. The bison grunted, undulated briefly in the air until Tenzin let go.

"Sorry," Tenzin found himself saying roughly. 

The most popular politician in the Republic had been outed as a bloodbender, the Avatar had been attacked, and now it was up to Tenzin to do damage control. He started to compose the telegram to Chief Unalaq in his head - 

_ Representative Tarrlok bloodbender. Stop. MIA. Stop. _

\- and it was almost enough to let him ignore the tug in his gut as he passed Tarrlok's apartment.

Almost.

The thought of the empty apartment - of the air growing stale and the dust settling, of all those well-loved books neglected, the smell of Tarrlok fading from his pillow - came over him like a wave, and nearly broke him again.

He reined Oogi in to circle City Hall for a long moment as he gathered himself, fist pressed to his mouth to force back the tears. Only when he was sure his composure was outwardly intact did Tenzin land. He still took a moment, standing beside Oogi, digging his fingers into thick, soft fur to ground himself.

"Alright," he said finally, patting the bison. "Go on with you. Try not to cause trouble." 

Oogi gave him a doleful look, huge dark eye full of something Tenzin liked to think was a primitive sort of understanding, and then Oogi was off into the sky.

Tenzin drew himself up and made for the roof entrance, veering around the pile of half-full buckets and other paraphernalia littering the roof from the window cleaners. He considered whether or not to ask Chief Unalaq for an interim replacement until this mess was sorted. There was a distinct feeling that the Northern Chief - if he really did dislike the Republic as much as Tarrlok had said - would be happy to cause trouble at the slightest--

Something whirred behind him, buzzing with electricity, and Tenzin ducked on instinct.

He watched, confused, as a disk crackling with blue sparks flew overhead. Another hissing noise, and he whirled off the ground to dodge another disk as he realised, with horror, what was happening.

The window washers - the  _ Equalists _ \- had already launched bolas, wrapping around his arms and nearly dragging him off his feet. It was by pure luck and lack of balance that he dodged a vicious kick to the head.

_ This can't be happening. _

Something raw and bleeding, something like fury but not really, rose in Tenzin and he whirled up in a typhoon of his own making, flinging all three Equalists violently away. One of them hit a wall with a sickening crunch, but the red-hot  _ something _ coiled in Tenzin's stomach didn't allow him the empathy to care.

Was this how they'd come for Korra? Was this how they had taken Tarrlok?

Tenzin realised he was breathing hard, that his fists were clenched. The entrance slammed open behind him, and he spun, ready for another attack, but it was just an aide. Tarrlok's aide, of all things.

"I'm so relieved to see you!" squeaked the man, trembling.

Tenzin wondered if he was perpetually afraid, but then realised the implication of his words. "Where are the other Councilmembers?" he demanded.

"They're not here!" said the aide. "Chief Saikhan just sent word; all of them were captured!"

"This can't be happening," breathed Tenzin, out loud this time.

"The leadership of Republic City is in your hands now," said the aide. "What are you going to do?"

Tenzin was silent for a moment, but as he opened his mouth to answer, he was stopped short by a distant boom. He spun, just in time to catch the flash of an explosion, closer than the previous.

And in the sky, hanging like dark, thunderous clouds, were sleek airships of a build Tenzin had never seen before, emblazoned with Amon's symbol.

"This can't be happening," Tenzin said again.

The aide went into hysterics beside him, and Tenzin took off running.

Saikhan. He needed to find Saikhan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, the chapter number grew again. This was originally part one of a way too long chapter, with part two next week. This time, though, it should hold steady. I'm pretty sure the remaining chapters are reasonable lengths by themselves.
> 
> _I think._


	23. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin deals with an attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is an amazing beta and way more patient than they need to be.

An explosion hit the high-rise on the boulevard.

Tenzin flung himself out of the path of the debris, his whirling air-cycle tossing dead leaves and detritus around him.

People were screaming and running. A massive chunk of masonry hit a desperately swerving Satomobile, crushing what Tenzin hoped was the engine and nothing else. He hadn't the time to check.

Piles of bricks littered the road in front of Police HQ, but he flew over them and burst through the doors. Inside, officers were running around in a panic that was some measure of controlled, in sharp contrast to outside chaos.

Tenzin grabbed a passing officer and demanded, "Saikhan! Where?"

She blinked, eyes wide, and pointed to a thick door down a hallway. Tenzin released her and rushed onwards, slamming open the door into a dark room, the wall lined with radios and wires. Saikhan startled at the noise, looking to Tenzin wild-eyed.

For once, he didn't look awkward, only harried.

"Chief--" Tenzin started to say.

"Oh!" Saikhan grabbed his hand, relief spreading over his damp features. "Am I glad to see you! I thought you'd been captured!"

"I'm the only one who hasn't," Tenzin said shortly. "Update me on the status."

"Amon has launched multiple, simultaneous attacks across the entire city," Saikhan said. He gestured at a map dotted through with red marks. "We've been trying to regain control, but we're overwhelmed."

Tenzin frowned at the map, tugged at his beard.

"What should we do?" asked Saikhan.

Tenzin looked around the room and spotted the telegraph station.

"I need to send a wire," he said. "You!" The telegraph operator startled as he strode towards her. "Get a wire to the United Forces."

"Sir?" she asked, her hand already hovering over the morse key.

"To General Iroh, UF," Tenzin said as she tapped in measure, "from Tenzin, RC, stop. City under attack, stop. Request immediate aid."

She released the morse key, looking up at him again. "Wire's sent."

And not a moment too soon. The phone operator next to them started frantically moving pins around before turning in his seat to look at Saikhan.

"Phone lines are dead, Chief! All of them!"

"Did the telegram make it out in time?" demanded Saikhan, saying out loud what Tenzin was thinking.

"I think so," said the operator with a helpless shrug. "I can't be sure, sir."

The lights flickered and an alarm started howling, loud and shrill.

Then, only moments later, it shut down along with all other power, plunging them into darkness. Tenzin squinted, trying to make out more than just dark shapes. He could hear distinct scuttling from the venting system. Too large to be spider rats.

A flashlight clicked on, and Saikhan handed Tenzin a second one. It wasn't much, but it was enough to see that Tenzin wasn't the only one who'd noticed the noises. The officers were all looking upwards, scanning the ceiling.

The scuttling turned into a hollow  _ clonk! _ and a low hiss.

"The vents!" someone cried. Both Saikhan and Tenzin pointed their flashlights up. A thick, yellow smoke was seeping out of the vents. The overpowering smell of garlic filled the room.

"We need to evacuate," Tenzin said. "Now! Everyone stay close to me!"

He tossed his flashlight to one of the officers, focusing instead of bending what untainted air remained into a protective bubble around them.

With Saikhan's help, they made it through the miasma-filled hallways, dragging with them what officers they found. He was grateful for Saikhan's sudden competence, all of his stilted awkwardness melting away.

Tenzin caught himself wondering if Tarrlok had seen that quality from the beginning. Then he saw clear air ahead and blue sky ahead, hurrying their group out of the door. With a sigh of relief he dropped the bubble and breathed the fresh air.

"Tenzin," called Saikhan, his voice tight.

Tenzin looked up and realised why. Six mecha tanks - Hiroshi Sato's fiendishly clever designs - surrounded them, armed and ready.

"Oh, come on," he groaned.

The fight was a blur; a fever dream of violent cables and humming machinery. They considered Tenzin the greater threat, going after him with gusto as he failed to save even a single officer from the Equalists.

Saikhan screamed, and Tenzin looked over just in time to see him drawn towards one of the tanks like - well, like a chunk of metal to a magnet.

"No!" Tenzin cried and, distracted, made a too easy target.

Something hit him, hard and sudden, and what breath he had left was slammed out of him by the brick wall that broke his fall. He slumped to the ground, his body refusing to work right; the sky spun above him, a burning Police airship carouselling around his vision, and he could hear terrified yelling.

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them the sky had stopped spinning. He was lying in a truck and Miss Sato was looking at him with worry, the glove on her hand sparking with electricity.

"Tenzin?" she was saying, her bare hand trying to pull him upright.

"I'm okay," he said, voice thick, and forced himself upright. "I'm okay. Thank you."

The Avatar and the boys were fighting the Equalists still, flames and water and chunks of tarmac flying to and fro. Korra and the earthb-- Bolin were tag-teaming a tank, but the firebender was in trouble, trying to deal with one of the monstrosities on his own.

Tenzin took Miss Sato's shoulder and hauled himself to his feet. Despite his dizziness, he managed an impressive typhoon and the tank took to the air. It was a minor miracle that he hadn't sent the boy with it by accident.

"Tenzin!"

Blue eyes and dark skin, and Tenzin blinked hard before he realised it was Korra - not Tarrlok; Tarrlok was gone - her hands grabbing his arms and keeping him upright.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Tenzin lied, hoping his eyes weren't spinning as much as his vision was. "Thank you, all of you. A moment later and I would have been on my way to Amon."

"Uh," said the firebender, his voice apprehensive. They turned to look at him, and he pointed out over the bay, wordless.

An airship, red and black and emblazoned with 'Equality', hanging like a buzzard wasp over Air Temple Island.

The dizziness was back, nearly toppling Tenzin, and he all but fell against Korra as he took in the newest threat. The children--

"Oh, no," he breathed.

"We gotta get the fuck out there," Korra said, not even straining under Tenzin's weight. "Asami, you got a boat or something?"

"No, here," Tenzin said, rooting around his sash and trying to get back to his feet. His hands were shaking, but he managed to find the bison whistle anyway. The bison arrived so quickly that poor Oogi must have gotten a fright with the force Tenzin used to blow in the damn thing.

They arrived to a group of Equalists, clustered together and bound. Meanwhile, Lin was holding a harried, if quiet, conversation with a pair of White Lotus guards. Beside her--

Tenzin felt a strange flip-flop between panic and relief.

\--beside her stood the kids, Ikki waving up at him frantically, a massive grin on her face.

Oogi landed with a thump, and Tenzin whirled off him, letting Korra and her friends climb down on their own.

"Are you alright? Why are you even out here?!"

His arms were suddenly full of Meelo, clambering up him like a monkey, tugging at his beard and ears. "We caught the bad guys!" he said, too loudly, in Tenzin's ear, but the words were panic-inducing enough that Tenzin didn't even flinch.

"You--" he stammered, looking from his triumphant children to Lin who was giving him an inscrutable look. "You let them fight, Lin? Are you insane?! They're children!"

"Didn't let 'em do anything; they were just there," she said dryly. Her lips tightened for a moment, as if she was trying to force the words back, but it was no use and she blurted out, "I would've been dead if they weren't. You did good with them."

Tenzin felt some of the anger give way to pride in his children.

Then, of course, Lin ruined the moment with, "Anyway, Pema's popping out your latest. You should probably go hold her hand."

Tenzin froze.

"What?!" he sputtered.

"Mom's giving birth," Ikki said, genuinely concerned that Tenzin hadn't understood.

"But-- It--" Tenzin calculated quickly in his head. It was only a week early; he should have been paying more attention, but between the Equalists and Tarrlok-- no. He couldn't think of Tarrlok now.

He pushed Meelo into Lin's arms and took off yet again.

Distantly he could hear the wail of a baby, and he felt his chest clench, even as he burst into a room that smelled only faintly of blood and sweat.

Pema sat in the bed, exhausted, and smiled up at him as she suckled the infant.

"Tenzin," she croaked.

"I-I'm here," he said, unable to take his eyes off the newborn child even as he sat beside her, shaking and dizzy. Small and pink and wrinkled with a thatch of black hair.

"It's a boy," she said softly.

"Aw, no," Ikki whined from the door. "Wasn't Meelo enough?"

Meelo protested loudly, Jinora started asking questions and, for a brief hazy moment, amid the new life, and Pema's tired voice telling them his name - Rohan - and what Tenzin was decently sure was a concussion, the rest of the world faded away.

A moment of perfect peace as he watched Rohan, glorious and alive, a tiny pink fist curling in Pema's robes.

And then the world crashed back with Korra.

"There're more airships coming," she said. "We need to fucking figure this out."

Jinora looked to him. She said, so quietly, far too quietly, “Daddy, what are we going to do?”

Tenzin tried to think past the dizziness, the fear and the grief.

“How many airships, Korra?”

“I saw at least four,” she answered.

He nodded, looked at his children, at Pema clutching Rohan to her, her face waxen. He couldn’t lose anymore.

“We run,” he said.

"Tenzin--" Korra protested immediately, as he'd known she would, but she stopped short as he stood suddenly.

He pretended he wasn't swaying.

"I know you want to fight, but we don't stand a chance against four airships' worth of Equalists and-- and I am  _ not _ losing my family, Korra! I'm not letting Amon take them--"

He stopped himself before he could add the 'too' at the tip of his tongue.

Korra stared at him, wide-eyed and tight-lipped, but finally nodded.

"I'm going with you," said Lin. Tenzin started, only then seeing her; a shadow in the dim hallway behind Korra.

"Lin--"

"No arguments. I'm not letting that maniac wipe out airbending."

Tenzin swallowed and nodded. "Thank you, Lin."

She stepped into the room and the light, clapping a solid hand on Korra's tense shoulder. "Go get Oogi ready; I'll get Pema wrapped up and prepared. Korra, go saddle up that ravenous beast you've decided to lug around. You'll need it to get to safety."

"I'm not fucking giving up," Korra spat, rounding on the earthbender.

"No one's asking you to," Tenzin assured her, and she snapped back to glare at him. He moved past her, taking her arm to tug her outside with him. "Just... wait. The United Forces are coming. I'll get Pema and the kids to safety, and then I'll return with an army.

"Can you be patient that long?"

Korra breathed deeply, her muscles bunching under Tenzin's hand. "I-- fuck. Yeah. Yes, I can."

"Good," Tenzin said and drew her in for a brief, shaky hug. One that he needed more than she did. "We'll all be okay. Just remember that."

She returned the hug and nodded into his shoulder before letting go.

"We need to go," Lin said, half-carrying Pema from the room. Pema was pale and sweating, but her lips were pressed in a thin stubborn line.

Tenzin nodded and waved the kids towards the door. "Stay safe, Korra."

"Yeah, you too," he heard her say at his back as he helped Lin guide Pema out to Oogi. The bison readily laid as low as he could, and they managed to get Pema up along the tail before Tenzin took his place.

"Dad, they're really close," Ikki whispered, voice shrill, in his ear.

"And Oogi is really fast," he said, throwing a nervous look at the airships. There was a  _ bang! _ and a grappling hook shot from the nearest ship.

"Oogi, yip yip!"

The bison shot into the sky, and Pema made a startled noise behind him.

"Just stay down," Lin said. Then her hand was on Tenzin's shoulder. "Two of them are on our tail."

"We can outfly them," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her.

Lin was silent for a moment, her hand tense on his shoulder. "I'm not so sure, Tenzin. They're picking up speed."

Tenzin turned for a moment, looked back at them along with Lin. Something in the monstrosities was indeed giving them an extra burst, and they were catching up. He turned back, his stomach roiling.

"Oogi, faster!"

Another piercing  _ bang! _ and Lin swore, moving suddenly.

"They're shooting at us!" Jinora said, her voice trembling.

"Oogi, you can do this," Tenzin whispered. "I've seen you fly faster than this, boy; try!"

"Whatever happens," he heard Lin say, "don't turn back."

_ What? _

"Lin?!" he demanded, twisting in his seat just in time to see her wires whistling through the air to drag her onto the closest airship as Lin launched herself off Oogi's tail.

"Oh, no," he heard Pema whisper, nearly lost in the wind.

On the airship, Lin tore and ripped at the balloon, sending it veering, and she turned her attention to the second ship, sailing through the air as if she could fly herself. Tenzin even felt, for a split second, the stirrings of hope.

And then she was down, electricity crackling through her body hard enough to make her thrashing obvious, even at the distance.

"Oh, no," Pema said more clearly.

"Dad, they got her!" Meelo sputtered, indignant.

"I know," Tenzin said. He forced himself to face forward, forced himself to urge Oogi on. "I know, Meelo, but there's nothing we can do."

The rest of their escape was silent and tense, even as the airship broke off pursuit, apparently satisfied with Lin. The silence was broken only by low whimpers from Rohan and soft murmurs from Pema.

Finally, as dusk fell, Tenzin set down on the coast, Oogi skidding into the sand with a low grumble.

"Where are we?" asked Jinora, her voice small.

"Near Mo Ce Abbey," Tenzin said, moving to help Pema down. "We're safe here, sweetheart; it'll be just like camping."

The children shuffled after them, clearly not buying his 'camping' idea, but there was little else he could do. Night was falling fast, and of all of them, only he and Jinora knew how to retain heat without a fire.

He got Pema and Rohan settled against Oogi's flank before saying, "Let's gather some firewood! Whoever gets the biggest pile, gets a piece of candy!"

That, at least, cheered them up, sending them chattering off towards the forest edging the beach.

He smiled briefly, tiredly, at Pema before moving towards the forest as well. It was a meager offering, with the rains and snow falls soaking through most of the fallen branches, but he still found some usable wood. There was a scuffling noise in the forest, likely an animal, and he paid it no heed.

"Tenzin!"

It was Pema's scream, sudden and frightened.

The electric glove latched onto his arm, sending him headlong into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest here: I genuinely think this is the weakest chapter of the fic as a whole, and I'm not altogether happy with it. It needed to be here to explain how the last chapter (Tenzin angsting in Republic City) gets to the next chapter (Tenzin in the clutches of the Equalists, hope I didn't spoil that for anybody), but I also think that its transitional nature is _why_ it's so weak. It doesn't leave a lot of room for solid character work, unfortunately.
> 
> Or maybe I just think chapters are more fun when they involve Tarrlok, who knows. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	24. Imprisoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin finds himself in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit is the best among us.

Tenzin was lying on something hard and cold, curled up in an uncomfortable position. He winced, forcing his eyes open. He was lying, as it turned out, on a concrete floor, steel bars filling his vision. His head was pounding.

"Dad?" asked Jinora, her voice trembling.

Tenzin sat - or rather, he tried. His uncomfortable position turned out to the result of thin, tightly bound ropes snaring his wrists and ankles together behind his back. He winced again and flopped onto his knees.

It was a cell, and one he shared with Jinora, Meelo and-- and Ikki who, unlike her siblings, was flat on the floor, unconscious. All three of them bound as he had been.

"Ikki!" he gasped, hurrying towards them as much as his bondage allowed.

"Tenzin," said Pema, and he looked wildly around for her.

She was in another cell across from their own, unbound - of course; she wasn't a bender - and cradling Rohan. Dirt was scuffed across her cheeks, and tears had drawn paths through the grey.

"What happened?" Tenzin asked, even as he desperately nudged at Ikki with his knee.

"They came out of nowhere," Pema said. Her voice was thick, hoarse. "I only saw them when they shocked you. They told us to surrender or they'd do something worse to you." She sniffled, swallowed the lump in her throat, and continued, "Ikki didn't listen. She never listens."

Her voice broke.

"I'm sure she's fine," said Tenzin with a confidence he didn't feel. "Ikki, sweetheart, wake up."

"She hasn't moved at all," Jinora whispered. Keeping her little voice low as not to upset Pema further.

"She just got knocked out," Tenzin assured her. Meelo started writhing like a furious monkey, straining to rid himself of the ropes. "Careful, Meelo," Tenzin said. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"Stupid ropes! Stupid people!" Meelo spat, but he fell still, scowling at the ceiling.

A whimper brought Tenzin's attention back to Ikki, who was shifting.

"Ikki?"

"Daddy?" she whined, cracking open one eye. Her pupil was blown worryingly large.

"It's alright, sweetie; just lie there for a moment," Tenzin said, trying for as gentle as the situation allowed.

"We're tied up!" Meelo yelled loudly, and Ikki opened both eyes wide.

"The Equalists, daddy!"

"Shh, yes, I know; Meelo, please be quiet," Tenzin said frantically. "Just stay calm, all of you. It's fine. We'll just be uncomfortable for a while."

"They're going to take your bending," said Pema from her own cell, and Tenzin looked over to see her terrified, her green eyes wide and worried.

"They might," Tenzin told her with a tired smile, "but on the whole, I'd rather have my family alive than our bending."

Pema didn't look convinced, but Rohan started fussing and she was thankfully distracted before the conversation could get any more grim.

Ikki was pushing herself to her knees with Jinora's help. Tenzin offered what support he could, ignoring the occasional elbow to the stomach as he looked around their prison.

Four good-sized cells, separated by bars and paths; Pema and Rohan in one cell, Tenzin and the kids in the other, and the last two empty. And, by the way the welds still gleamed, the whole arrangement had been thrown together recently. (Tenzin scanned the empty cells again, worry and disappointment welling for a moment. What had he expected? Lin? Tarrlok…?)

“Have you seen anyone else?” Tenzin asked Jinora.

It was Pema who answered.

“Only Equalists,” she said. “I-- I think we heard some yelling when they brought us in, but I didn’t see anyone.”

“We’re in the Pro-Bending Arena,” Jinora added, clearly making a heroic effort to stay calm. Tenzin’s chest hurt with a sudden burst of pride. “The basement somewhere.”

Tenzin nodded and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Then, making sure Ikki was securely upright, he shuffled towards Pema, leaning against the bars. “Pema, listen…”

She looked at him with such naked hope that it terrified him, but he powered through.

“You’re the only one who’s not bound,” he told Pema. “If you get the chance, you run.”

“Tenzin--” she started, voice rising.

“Whatever they have planned for us,” Tenzin said, loudly, “you and Rohan likely won’t be targeted! You can go get help.”

“I-- I suppose,” Pema said, staring at her bound children, her face twisting in fear.

The door rattled, and a lock  _ thunked _ open.

Tenzin fell still, staring at the dented metal, waiting for it to open; his heart pounded. In the other cell, Pema crept into a corner, huddling around Rohan protectively.

He didn’t know who he expected to walk through. A guard, perhaps, telling them to be quiet. The moustachioed man with the kali sticks, checking on the prisoners. Maybe even, as a fervent hope, Korra coming to bust them out.

But it was Amon who stepped into their prison.

Tenzin's courage stuck enough to not shrink away from the bars, his bound hands clenching tight behind his back, nails digging four half-moons into the palm. He stayed where he was, kneeling, but defiant in the face of Amon’s cold porcelain glare.

And he  _ was  _ glaring; there was no question about that. His eyes narrow in the shadow of that ghostly mask, measuring Tenzin up like an insect. Dismissing the airbender, he eyed Pema and Rohan as well, strolling down along the length of their cells before turning on his heel, calling,

“Bring her in.”

Tenzin's stomach sank, and he snapped to watch the door again - not Korra, not Korra,  _ please _ \- as two Equalists entered, dragging a slumped figure between them. The dim lighting revealed steel-grey hair and the torn, padded outfit officers wore beneath their armour. They had at least allowed Lin the dignity of having only her hands bound.

Because she was no longer a bender, Tenzin realised queasily.

She was tossed to her knees with little ceremony, head bowed and eyes closed. Her lips were pressed together thinly, but Tenzin couldn't tell if she was holding back fury or tears.

"Lin," he said, and her eyes snapped open.

"No," she said as they found him, horror falling over her features. "No! You got away!"

"Do you feel accomplished now, Beifong?" Amon asked, his gravelly voice low and sibilant.

Lin didn't look at him, instead turning from Tenzin, to Pema, and back again. Something was breaking in her eyes, her shoulders slumping as she realised that it was real, that they were all captured. Tenzin tried to apologise wordlessly, but he couldn't know how much she actually saw in the low light of the prison.

Amon fell into a crouch, smooth as water, and Tenzin flinched back from the bars on instinct. The Equalist leader ignored the reaction, instead catching Lin's chin in dark, slender fingers and forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Do you feel your sacrifice was worth it?" he asked.

Lin pressed her eyes shut and fell silent again, but there was a tremble in her body that hadn't been there when they'd dragged her in.

"There is nothing you can hide from us," Amon continued, his voice a cajoling murmur. "We will find the Avatar, just as we found the airbenders. And when we do, we shall rid the world of its greatest tyrant forever. Tell me where to find her, Beifong, and it shall be only the Avatar who suffers, and not Korra as well."

_ Tarrlok would have had a conniption at the melodrama, _ Tenzin thought with a burst of hysterical gallow's humour.

"I'm not telling you anything, you utter fuck," Lin said defiantly, but her voice was raw and broken.

Amon leaned closer, tilting her head towards Tenzin's cell.

"Look at the children, Lin," he murmured. "Tell me where she is, and I won't take their bending. I know you're willing to sacrifice yourself, but are you willing to offer them up?"

"He's lying!" Tenzin cried before he could think better of it. "Don't listen to him, Lin; he'll take their bending no matter what!"

Lin's eyes hardened and her lips vanished into a thin line and for once, Tenzin was happy to see her stubbornness winning out. Amon, however, glared at him sidelong through the mask, and Tenzin would have sworn his heart skipped a beat.

"You'll talk," Amon said and stood, releasing Lin. "Take her back to her cell."

The two Equalists descended on Lin like hawks, yanking her up roughly from beneath her arms and dragging her back out.

Amon stayed where he was, and Tenzin waited for the next horror. 

The Equalist leader sighed - the breath caught on his mask, whistling on the edges - and he took two steps past Tenzin.

"I know you're afraid," Amon said, and his voice was different; still low and rough, but there was a gentleness that was startling.

Tenzin blinked, confused until he realised Amon was talking to his children. Meelo glared and trembled at the same time, and Ikki was trying and failing to hold back tears. Both of them huddled behind Jinora, who did her best to shield them, glaring up at Amon.

"You needn't fear," Amon continued, his voice still so strangely soft. "You'll be cleansed. I know that, right now, that seems a terrifying prospect to you, but I promise you this: you're not losing anything - you're being set free."

"Stop talking to my children," Tenzin said, trying and failing to keep a tremble from his voice.

Amon ignored him. "A world without bending," he said softly. "A world where you can all finally be safe."

_ He really believes it _ , thought Tenzin with a cold chill. Up until now, in spite of all the evidence, he had assumed that Amon's revolution was mostly rhetoric; a demagogue stirring up the masses to gain power. But now, here, faced with the ghostly man, with the pale mask that seemed to almost glow in the shadow of the hood...

Amon seemed to realise he was lingering, and he half turned, looking at Pema and the baby. Tenzin tried to stand, only belatedly remembering the ropes.

"Beg the spirits for one kindness," Amon said, and again his voice was hard as steel. "That the infant was born as pure as his mother."

He turned on his heel and left, the heavy door slamming shut behind him.

"Is everyone okay?" Tenzin asked.

Pema was crying again, rocking back and forth, but she nodded at him, a shaky hand stroking Rohan's head. Somehow the little one had known not to cry in the presence of the Equalist leader, but now he let loose with a wail. Pema was immediately distracted, and Tenzin turned his attention to the children.

Jinora looked tired but defiant, and Ikki was sniffling, glaring as she tried to stop crying.

"He made my heart feel funny," Meelo said with a fierce frown.

Tenzin realised his own heart was pounding as well. Fear, surely.

"I know, Meelo," Tenzin said. "He was very scary, but he's gone now."

Time passed, and Tenzin managed to convince the children to meditate - or sleep, in Meelo's case - through most of it. Pema returned to huddle against the bars of her cell, as close to the rest of them as she could get.

Twice they were brought food and water; Pema was the only one allowed the dignity of eating and drinking under her own power.

"I need to pee!" Meelo said loudly during the second round of having bland rice shovelled into their mouths, and one of the Equalists promptly picked him up and carried him out.

"No!" cried Pema.

"Where are you taking him?!" Tenzin demanded, uncaring of the rice he spat across the floor.

"We'll bring him back," the Equalist responded, her voice bored, and disappeared with a writhing Meelo.

True to her word, Meelo was plopped back down in their cell not ten minutes later, looking thoroughly disgruntled.

"They wouldn't let me pee by myself!" he said, as scandalised as any five-year-old denied the choice to draw figures with his urine.

"What did you see out there?" Jinora asked, and Tenzin blinked at her in surprise. He really shouldn't be, he supposed, but her level-headedness was a constantly unexpected boon.

"Lots o' people dressed like those guys," Meelo said, jerking his chin at the Equalist currently giving Ikki water.

"What about outside?" Jinora pressed.

"Sun was comin' up," said Meelo and wrinkled his nose. "I got a booger!"

"I am not getting that," said one Equalist to the other. Then he turned his goggled eyes to them and said, "You'll all get to see 'outside' soon enough."

With that ominous promise, they locked the cells once more and filed out of the door. Tenzin watched them go with dread curdling in his stomach.

"Meelo," he said, keeping his voice very level, "did you hear anything?"

Meelo broke off his attempt to put his tongue up his nose and nodded.

"Mm-hm; they're gonna have a rally. What's a rally?"

"It's, uh... it's a party," Tenzin said, not sure how to tell his children what it likely meant for them. He should have known, of course.

Why else would they catch four airbenders and leave their bending intact for so long? Amon was having another rally, and they were the showstopper. He swallowed.

"Party's not so bad," said Meelo, comforted.

Jinora, however, looked pale, her iron-grip on her dignity and courage slipping at last.

"It'll be okay," Tenzin promised her.

He wondered who he was trying to convince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon's my favourite character. Is it obvious? I tried not to make it obvious because the fic's not about him, but DR called me out in their beta-notes for being obviously thirsty for him, so now I worry it's a little _too_ obvious??


	25. The Rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin is the guest of honour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit, beta of champions.

They rested as well as they could in their cold, bare cells, waiting in tense silence broken only by Rohan's gurgling and Pema low calming murmurs. Distantly, Tenzin thought he could hear feet rushing back and forth. When the door finally opened, it was almost a relief.

"The airbenders only," a rough voice said as Equalists filed into the cell, grabbing the children, one by one before, coming for Tenzin.

"No!" said Pema, her free hand curling around the bars. "Don't take them, please! Stop!"

The panic in her voice set off both Rohan and Meelo, the former kicking into a penetrating wail and the latter squirming as hard as his bound body allowed. They grabbed Tenzin and, rather than lifting, hauled him out on his knees. "It's okay, Pema!" he called over Rohan's crying. "It'll all be okay!" He caught a glimpse of her, wan and terrified, before being jerked out the door at the feet of the man with the moustache.

"Really?" the man said to the Equalists holding Tenzin.

"He's heavy," said one of them with a shrug.

That got a huff in response, and Tenzin was dragged along unceremoniously. He couldn't care, not with Ikki hanging over a man's shoulder in front of him, watching him with large, frightened eyes.

Would it hurt her? He hadn't seen Amon take anyone's bending, but from what Korra told him, it was as if the victim froze, unable to move as their powers were taken from them. Perhaps the moment itself was just emptiness, a blank trance until you woke, your chi gone forever.

Tenzin could only hope.

His knees were aching and he was certain his trousers tore by the time the Equalists finished dragging them through the dark and labyrinthine halls of the Arena. The room they arrived at was dark, with a large open rectangle in the ceiling, light slipping through cracks in the boards that made up the walls. Beyond them was a murmur of voices.

A stage, Tenzin realised, his heart sinking. It would be a performance.

"Hey!" cried Ikki indignantly, but whatever else she had meant to say was suddenly muffled. Tenzin struggled and twisted, only to see that all three of his children were now gagged with wide strips of black cloth.

"This is--" he said, and then a gag of his own was forced between his teeth and knotted tightly at the back of his head.

Slow, measured steps, and Amon strode into the room to join them, gesturing to Tenzin's family. Tenzin could have sworn the temperature dropped.

"Over there," Amon said. "Feet and hands."

The ropes loosened and Tenzin made a noise of relief, rising to his unsteady feet. The relief was short-lived, however, as steel manacles clapped in place on his wrists and ankles, and he was shoved up against a thick wooden pole.

Meelo was shouting through his gag, and Tenzin looked to see the Equalists do the same to the children. Ikki was crying again, but Jinora seemed to be doing breathing exercises, her eyes closed and posture slumped.

Amon looked to them - at the children specifically, Tenzin realised - and then turned away sharply with a strange duck of his hooded head. Absurdly, it reminded Tenzin of Tarrlok's ever-present flash of pain when he saw the children.

He wondered where Tarrlok was; if Amon hadn't simply done the coldly pragmatic thing upon catching a bloodbender and killed him.

"Sir," said the man with the kali sticks. "Everything's ready."

"Very good, Lieutenant," said Amon, no sign of any emotion in his voice. "Proceed."

"Places, everyone!" called the Lieutenant, and he and Amon lined up with a cadre of uniformed Equalists below the open rectangle and, as one, rose into the air.

Tenzin blinked hard and realised they were standing on a moving platform. As they rose to the top of the stage, the murmurs beyond became a roar, and what Tenzin had thought to be a small crowd revealed itself to be a massive mob. He swallowed and tugged at the manacles to no avail.

The cacophony settled and Amon's voice rang out, steady and hypnotic, "Thank you all for joining me on this historic occasion!"

Another wave of roaring sound from the audience, and Ikki whimpered. Tenzin tried to see her in the gloom, but there were only three slumped figures at his side.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to lose his bending, he thought detachedly. Perhaps Amon was right, in a round-about way; without the bending, the burden of expectations would be gone. Yes, airbending would vanish, but Tenzin might finally be free. A person, a no one, not the Avatar's son and heir to the Air Nomad tradition. It was a small measure of comfort.

"When I was a boy," Amon continued above them, "a firebender struck down my entire family and left me horrifically scarred. There, in the ashes of that tragedy, upon the corpses of my family, is where I swore to equalise the world."

"You're a fucking liar, Amon!"

Tenzin's head shot up, and he stared up at the creaking boards. Beside him, he heard Jinora make a muffled sound of hope.

Korra. Korra was free and she was here.

Somewhere beyond the stage, the Avatar continued, "Or should I call you Noatak, shit waffle?!"

Steps creaked above Tenzin's head and Amon said, "Everyone, please calm down. We have nothing to fear from the Avatar; let's hear what she has to say."

"Amon's been lyin' to you!" Korra called to the sound of confused muttering. "He didn't get _shit_ from the spirits! You wanna know how this fuck nugget takes bending away? Bloodbending! Amon's a fuckin' waterbender!"

The Equalists still below the stage started murmuring amongst themselves, and Tenzin tried the manacles again, twisting them with all his might.

A bloodbender? He clamped back a hysterical giggle. How many bloodbenders could one city handle?

"You're desperate, Avatar," Amon drawled. "Making up stories about me is a pathetic last resort."

"Your family wasn't killed by no fucking firebender!" Korra spat right back at him. Tenzin could almost see her, all fire and fury. "His father was Yakone!"

Tenzin froze, his world crumbling away around him.

"And his brother," Korra was saying, and Tenzin knew what was next, knew it bone-deep, "is Councilman Tarrlok!"

Amon's fingers taking Lin's chin - long and dark and slender, just like Tarrlok's.

Amon glaring sidelong in irritation - a gesture so familiar from Tarrlok that Tenzin could close his eyes and see it in his memory.

Amon speaking to the children, soft and distant - Tenzin wondered if his face twisted in pain behind that mask, the same flicker of agony he knew so well from Tarrlok.

"An amusing tale," Amon said, his cold voice bringing Tenzin sharply back to reality. He listened to the cadence, the accent, if any part of it sounded like-- like--

"I will show you all the truth." The Arena seemed to compress as the crowd held its breath, and then gasps and cries of horror as Amon's voice rose in a glacial fury, "You see? _This_ is what a firebender did to me! This is what the Avatar is telling you is a lie!"

"The _Avatar_ is lying!" someone screamed, and was joined by a chorus of like-minded followers.

Whatever Amon had done, it had clearly convinced them.

But Tenzin recognised too well the hand of an expert manipulator.

"I'm tellin' you, he's a waterbender!" Korra cried, almost lost in the noise of the crowd. People started booing loudly.

Again steps overhead, and Amon said, "I wouldn't leave yet, Avatar! You'll miss the main event."

There was a jolt underfoot, and Meelo made a startled noise. Light erupted above them, and Tenzin winced, blinded, trying to turn his head away. They were rising onto the stage, and as they became visible, the noise from the crowd rose to a frenzied crescendo.

There were thousands of them, Tenzin realised as his eyes adjusted to the blaze of light. Thousands of them, staring up at Tenzin and his children with a feral hunger and, if it wasn't for the stage, Tenzin was certain the vicious mob could easily have torn all four of them limb from limb.

In front of him, Amon raised his arms.

"Tonight," he said, "I rid the world of airbending. Forever."

"Amon, let them go!" Korra roared, and Tenzin finally caught sight of her, perched high up on the thin walkway at the base of the Arena dome.

"You're welcome to come down here and try to stop me," Amon goaded her, and Tenzin nearly choked on something half a sob, half a laugh. Yakone's sons - his _sons_ , spirits help them - were cut from the same cloth when it came to handling Korra.

Someone - the firebending boy - grabbed Korra, talking urgently, but she yanked away from him, her wide, frightened eyes meeting Tenzin's across the vast distance.

"It seems the Avatar needs to be reminded of the power I possess," said Amon and turned on his heel. His eyes fell on Tenzin and narrowed to thin, deadly slits, and his hands - they were so like Tarrlok's - clenched and unclenched as he stepped towards the airbenders.

Tenzin cast a worried look at the kids; all three of them were staring at Amon as if hypnotised, and Tenzin felt sick.

With every step Amon took closer, Tenzin felt colder, and he started tugging at the manacles again, desperation leading him to hack the chains into the wooden pole.

Amon reached for him-- and flames burst towards them, driving the Equalist leader - the bloodbender - away from Tenzin.

And then Korra was there, amidst all the flame, and the gag was gone from Tenzin's mouth. He gasped and choked on spit, coughing, as Korra burned away at the manacles.

"Where's Pema and the baby?" Korra demanded, her voice tense.

Tenzin's hands fell free, and he glanced back in time to see Korra kneel, working on the steel on his ankles as well. "In prison," he said.

The firebender was laying down flame after roaring flame, trying to keep the Equalists back, but he was faltering. There were too many.

"Beifong?" Korra asked.

Lin being dragged away, broken and proud…

"I don't know," Tenzin said.

"Help Mako," Korra said, and there was nothing of the uncertain teenager in her voice. "I'll free the kids."

And then his feet were no longer bound, and Tenzin burst into action, rushing to the firebender's side.

Most of the Equalists were easily handled, knocked off the stage with an easy blast of air, and Tenzin was dimly aware that the screaming crowd was drawing away from the stage in something that could very well become a stampede.

He couldn't worry about that now; Amon - Noatak, Tarrlok's _brother_ \- was weaving and ducking around bursts of fire and wind as if it was a game to him.

Tenzin lost his boundless patience and created a whirlwind, flung it at Amon, uncaring of the boards and banners he ripped up along the way. The Equalist leader went flying, tumbling off the stage.

"This way!" Korra called behind him, "Now!"

Without thinking Tenzin rushed to obey as they fled the vast Arena space.

In the hallway they paused, the children clustering to Tenzin's side. All three of them were alert, and Ikki was viciously rubbing at the dried tears on her cheeks. Korra turned to him, her face set in a fierce expression that, for a moment, reminded Tenzin of his father. 

"Get yourself and your family out of here," she said. "We'll create a distraction."

He nodded. "Be careful." Then, to the kids, "Let's find your mother and the baby."

"Prison break!" screamed Meelo.

"This way!" Jinora called, almost lost beneath her brother's theatrics, and she took off.

Of course, thought Tenzin. While he had been consumed with guilt and fear, his eldest daughter had traced their path.

He swooped up Meelo and took Ikki's hand, and followed on her heels. Behind them, he heard the roar of flames and felt a wave of heat, but he couldn't concern himself with that; not when Jinora wove through the dark hallways like a spirit guide.

They rounded a corner, into a startled Equalist, and before Tenzin could think to drop either of his youngest children, Ikki had already flung a furious ball of wind at the man, slamming him into the wall.

"That's-- that's good, Ikki," Tenzin stammered as they took off again, and got a bright - if red-eyed - smile for his troubles.

The metal door looked even dingier from the outside, but when Jinora pressed her shoulder to it, it held.

"It's locked," she said, dismayed.

Tenzin set Meelo down and released Ikki.

"Step back, kids," he said and checked if they obeyed, before focusing his chi through his fingers and into the lock. One deep breath, and he poured the full force of a typhoon into the tiny mechanisms. They popped, the lock bulging out like a balloon, and the door swung open.

Pema was still pressed to the bars, clutching Rohan close, and at the sight of Tenzin and the children, she burst into tears.

"I wanna try that!" Ikki cried and ran to the cell door. "Mom, look!" It was less neat than Tenzin’s airbending, but the lock was also more delicate, and Ikki blasted it open with a minimum of shrapnel.

“That’s-- oh, Ikki, that’s so good,” Pema said wetly, trying to smile. She got to her feet unsteadily, clutching at the bars. “He didn’t take your bending.”

“Korra saved us!” crowed Meelo.

“Come on,” Tenzin said, carefully taking Rohan from his wife. “We’re getting out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the breather chapters, because next week we're going to switch to Tarrlok's POV! I think it's gonna be a _real blast._ (◕‿◕✿)


	26. Counterweight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tarrlok on a boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CW:** for **suicidal ideation** and **child abuse.**
> 
> As always, DoubtingRabbit is the absolute champion, and there are no words for how grateful I am to them.

The sea stretched, still as tin, into the sunset. Republic City was a distant line in the east, barely more than a mirage, hovering above the water.

_"What's that?" Tarrlok asked, pointing his small, gloved hand across the tundra to where white globes floated in the air._

_"It's a fata morgana," Noatak had answered. "It shows what's beneath the horizon."_

The last glittering light of Republic City vanished beneath the waves, and Tarrlok twisted in his seat to face forward again, towards the orange dusk sky. Noatak was a silhouette against the dwindling sunlight.

If Tarrlok concentrated, he could sense the water lying still around them, the moon - waxing gibbous - soon to rise, his brother's heartbeat, but the effort gave him a headache. The chi was still there. Noatak had simply severed the connection. Tarrlok wondered idly how many experiments he performed before perfecting the technique.

"Where are we going?" he asked his brother over the noise of the engine.

"Huh?" Noatak glanced over his shoulder - he looked like Father; no wonder he'd worn a mask - and smiled briefly. "Oh, I'm taking us to Ember Island for now, and then we can discuss where to go from there."

"Ember Island?"

"It's a good place to hide," Noatak said. "Not as crowded as Ba Sing Se, sure, but there's also no Dai Li to contend with. Nobody asks questions in the Fire Nation."

Tarrlok wondered when Noatak had gotten that experience. How he'd survived.

“Besides,” Noatak said, “there’s nothing worth staying in Republic City for. Not anymore.”

“I suppose not." Tarrlok tried not to think of gentle fingers in his hair, of blue-grey eyes full of concern.

"Don't worry," said Noatak, glancing back over his shoulder again, and hadn't that always been how they were; Tarrlok on Noatak's heels? "I'll take care of everything. You're safe."

Tarrlok's head hurt, and bitter betrayal rose in his throat. He looked away from his brother before it spilled out. "I'm not worried."

"Yes, you are," Noatak said, as obnoxiously all-knowing as he'd always been. "Your heart's beating too fast, and blood is flowing to your extremities."

_"You're a scaredy cat," Noatak had said, half smirking in the moonlight. "Your heart's beating too fast."_

_"Stop reading my blood!" Tarrlok had shot back, shoving him into the snow._

Tarrlok said nothing, slumping in his seat. The boat was stacked to the brim with Equalist equipment. He felt painfully out of place.

"The two of us together again," said Noatak, smiling into the sunset. "There's nothing we can't do, Tarrlok!"

"Yes, Noatak," Tarrlok said.

_"Yes, Noatak," Tarrlok said as Noatak drew out the plan for a small igloo in the snow._

_"Yes, Noatak," Tarrlok said as Noatak shoved too much blubber onto his plate._

_"Yes, Noatak," Tarrlok said as Noatak told him how to better his bloodbending grip on a whimpering wolf._

_"Yes, Noatak," Tarrlok never said as Noatak begged him to run away._

"Noatak," said his brother, chuckling. "Huh. I'd almost forgotten the sound of my own name."

Electric gloves were stacked, three to a pile, on Tarrlok's left. The fuel tank sloshed on Tarrlok's right. A grim realisation dawned on him as he looked at Noatak again.

Noatak who looked like their father. Noatak who had started a revolution. Noatak who had gone mad. And Tarrlok who had--

_"Don't make it worse for yourself."_

_Tenzin's stormcloud eyes, wide and pleading and pained, as Tarrlok forced them all to their knees._

The glove was in his hand before he realised it, and again he glanced at his brother. Noatak was silent, lost in some reverie of his own. Tarrlok pulled on the glove and carefully, so very carefully, unscrewed the lid of the fuel tank. The smell of fuel hit his nose briefly before being lost to the wind.

All it would take was one spark, he thought, lifting the glove to hover over the opening. One flick of his fingers, and Yakone's monstrous sons would be put down like the rabid animals they were.

"It'll be just like the good old days," he said, taking one last look at Noatak.

Noatak who--

\--who had to know exactly what Tarrlok was doing. Noatak who could sense the movement of every living thing around him. Noatak who was making no move to stop him--

Tarrlok hesitated, uncertain, staring at the tense line of his brother's back.

"Do it," said Noatak, just loud enough to be heard above the engine.

Tarrlok looked at the glove, hesitation mutating into nausea and fear and regret, and he flung it off like a venomous insect. It clattered to the floor of the boat.

At the bow Noatak slumped, leaning heavily on the dashboard. His shoulders were shaking.

_The polar hamster shrieked as it twisted in the air, and Tarrlok was crying when Father finally allowed him to release it._

_Noatak did the same, his eyes dry, his body held taut as a bowstring._

Tarrlok pushed out of the seat, making his unsteady way towards the bow, disbelieving. Noatak didn't cry. Noatak was cold and distant, locking away all the things their father could use against them; all the things Tarrlok only learned to hide too late.

Tears trickled down Noatak's face, his eyes clenched shut, his lips pressed to a thin line.

"Noa?" Tarrlok said, and the word - born when a two-year-old Tarrlok proved to have trouble sounding out the 't' - felt even weirder in his mouth than his brother's full name.

Noatak drew a deep, trembling breath.

"Maybe it's better," he said, hoarse with tears. "Maybe the world is better off without us."

Tarrlok laughed without humour. "The old bastard really did a number on us, didn't he."

Noatak straightened up and sniffed to little use; tears were still welling up on his eyes.

"I was trying to help," he said. "I really was. I was going to be everything he wasn't."

_“I was going to be this city’s saviour!”_

Tarrlok stared at him.

"You took my bending, Noa," he said, meaning for it to be accusing, to push that guilt onto his brother... but what came out was soft and hurt.

Noatak looked at him, broken and maddened.

"I had to," he said. "It was the only way I knew to protect you."

_The tent was dark and the air close, stinking of sweat and fear. "You killed them," Tarrlok said, his voice a frightened whisper. "They were screaming, Noatak. They screamed."_

_"I had to," answered Noatak, low and fervent. "Dad would have made you try otherwise. It was the only way I knew to protect you."_

Tarrlok kept staring at his brother, confusion and hurt and an old, painful love twisting together until he could barely breathe. Noatak crumbled to the deck, his face hidden in his hands as he sobbed.

The boat started veering and, automatically, Tarrlok pulled the switch, turning the engine off. It puttered to a stand-still, bobbing gently on the waves. The sky was the colour of a bruise, purplish-blue, and Noatak was falling to pieces.

Tarrlok looked at the huddled form in front of him, his exhausted mind wandering in circles. This was not the superior brother, who had towered over Tarrlok in height and skill both, the brightest hope of their father's dark plans; it was not the ethereal brother who had haunted Tarrlok's every step, a ghost walking forever before him, guiding his path.

Noatak was just... a man. As twisted as Tarrlok himself, and even more mad. And now, both of their lives were destroyed.

He knelt down beside his weeping brother and wrapped his arms over Noatak's trembling shoulders, holding him close. Noatak slumped against him, and Tarrlok was darkly amused at the shift in their roles. How often had he curled up to Noatak to hide, just like this?

When the greying sky grew blurry, he realised he was crying too.

This was how the United Forces found them, on a still boat in the nighttime sea, huddled together like the frightened children they'd never stopped being.

Tarrlok, they put in handcuffs. Noatak was bound and surrounded by wary firebenders. Tarrlok almost laughed and told them there was no point; there was no fight left in Noatak. And even if there had been, they wouldn't have stood a chance against him in the first place.

But he didn't tell them

It wasn't very funny at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Oh, of course I wasn't going to blow them up, come on!**
> 
> Okay, to be fair, I did consider it for a hot minute when I was first plotting the fic, but then I remembered that I thought it was stupid nine years ago when the episode first aired, and I _still_ think it's stupid. It's so very obviously Bryke thinking they only got one season and they had to wrap up loose ends, and they did that in the dumbest way possible.
> 
> So I fixed it. And with that, we are officially in AU territory.
> 
> Also, I may have drawn ~~porn~~ an illustration for chapter 8: the Marriage Bed. ( . •́ _ʖ •̀ .) You can find that on my twitter [here](https://twitter.com/Lenticular17/status/1361034717060022282); obviously nsfw.


	27. Conjugal Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin goes to see Tarrlok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one, the _only_ , DoubtingRabbit, the Beta.

Tenzin tried not to be nervous as he stepped through the doors into the looming monstrosity that was the Republic City Incarceration Facility. Lin, already there, took him through security. Her commands to the staff were sharp and clear despite the heavy bags under her eyes.

Tenzin was grateful at her exhaustion; it meant she wouldn't ask questions about Tenzin's own drawn expression.

They walked down the administrative hallway with Lin's hand dragging along the wall. Feeling the brick with her fingers when she couldn't with her bending, he realised.

"We'll be leaving in two days," he told her after a long silence. "There's room on Oogi for you."

"I'll be taking whatever bison the Avatar's on," Lin said, her fingers trailing in the brick grooves. "When she gets her bending back, I wanna be next in line."

Tenzin decided not to remark on her unusual optimism. He had the sinking feeling that it was less 'when' and more 'if'.

"I'm pretty sure Korra would insist on it," he said instead.

Lin snorted, fighting back a pleased smile.

"And how are Yakone's sons finding their accommodations?" Tenzin asked, as casually as he could.

The repressed amusement faded off Lin's face, and she sighed.

"We've got them in the hospital wing--"

"What? Why?" Tenzin demanded. Then held his hands up in surrender as she glared at him. "Sorry, continue."

"We decided the best way to keep Amon in check was to keep him sedated around the clock," Lin said. "I don't like it, but until we find a more humane way to contain him or until we're allowed to kill him, it'll have to do."

"And Tarrlok?" prodded Tenzin. Perhaps too eagerly, because Lin gave him a searching look.

"What is it with you and Tarrlok?" she asked.

Tenzin's blood ran cold. Her eyes narrowed at him, measuring.

"I don't know what you mean," Tenzin said, and his voice was almost level.

Something in his face, however, must have given him away because Lin stopped short, gave him a hard look, and then her green eyes widened.

"Oh, Tenzin," she said, her voice a blend of amusement and disappointment.

"Can you-- it's not what you--"

"All this time," Lin continued, "I thought it was a one-time thing. Sure, hey, you stepped out on me, but that was because of the kids situation. You were so fucking desperate to have kids. Shitty but understandable."

Tenzin winced. "Lin, please."

"But no! Turns out you just can't help yourself. And with Tarrlok?"

"Yes, with Tarrlok!" Tenzin hissed, only just remembering to keep his voice down.

Lin stared at him, her face caught somewhere between smiling and scowling. "How long?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Tenzin said, continuing their walk down the hallway.

"It's Pema's business," Lin said at his back, and he froze. "You need to tell her, Tenzin."

To his shame, Tenzin let cowardice win. "Why? Tarrlok's in here, isn't he? It's-- it's practically over," he snapped back.

She measured up his weaknesses, then scoffed.

"Wow. You actually feel for that snake. That's just you all over, Tenzin; pointing your dick at all the wrong places."

"Can we move on?" Tenzin pleaded.

"Sure." Lin started down the hallway again. "But you still need to tell Pema. She deserves better than I got."

"I know. Just... not right now."

He could feel her looking at him as she said, "I guess I know why you've been even more histronic than usual now."

"If you're done," Tenzin said, his voice cold enough that the tremble was barely audible, "I just want to know why he's in the hospital wing too. Surely  _ he's  _ not being sedated?"

Lin snorted. "No," she said, "no need. He's there because, between injections, Amon woke up and nearly broke some poor doctor's back while screaming for his brother. So now we're keeping them together. They're both calmer that way."

"I had hoped to be able to talk to them," Tenzin murmured.

"So I gathered," said Lin. "Didn't realise it was to have a conjugal--"

"I've been speaking to their attorneys," Tenzin cut her off before she could get any further and pretended he wasn't turning red. "They haven't been able to contact either of their clients."

"Well, no, 'cause Amon is out cold and Tarrlok isn't talking to fucking anyone," Lin said, her voice sharp. "What does it matter, Tenzin? They're both bloodbenders!"

"Everyone deserves a fair trial," Tenzin said. "Even bloodbenders."

Lin gave him a needling look. "Even your latest piece of ass, you mean."

Tenzin stared at her, silent, and she met him glare for glare. Finally she snorted, nose wrinkling in distaste, and nodded.

"We'll see if Tarrlok wants to talk to you," she said. "Give you that chance to confess your undying love."

"Are you done?" Tenzin demanded, voice tight.

She shrugged and led him on down the hallway. “No, hey, I guess your habit of falling for your sidepiece is admirable, if nothing else.”

"This is nothing like-- you have no idea what you're talking about."

Lin jerked her head towards an elevator. "C'mon."

They rode downwards in silence; tense and stomach-churning on Tenzin’s part, but he had a suspicion that Lin was enjoying the awkwardness. The subtle twitch of her lips suggested a suppressed smirk.

The elevator stopped with a sonorous bell, and Lin led the way back out, down along another hallway, this one unpainted and barred with two sets of steel doors. An officer at the second one started saluting as soon as he saw Lin coming, and didn't seem inclined to stop.

"Get Councilman Tarrlok from the hospital wing if he's willing," Lin told him.

"And if he's not, ma'am?" asked the man.

"Well, then he's not-- at ease, officer,  _ spirits. _ Then he's not willing and that's that." She pinched the bridge of her nose, her free hand reaching for the wall automatically. "The last thing we need is a ruckus waking up Amon."

"Yes, ma'am," said the officer, and then belatedly realised he should already be gone. He took off.

Lin sighed deeply, then gestured Tenzin onwards. "This way."

He moved into a room bisected by a long row of thin steel bars. Along the bars there were partitions, sets of tables and chairs on either side. Thankfully, aside from Lin and himself, it was empty.

"You don't have any sharp objects or contraband?" Lin asked.

Tenzin turned to stare at her, disbelieving. "What?"

She shrugged. "Standard procedure. You can answer, or I can frisk you."

"No!" Tenzin sputtered, then forced himself calm. "No, I don't have anything, Lin."

"Alright," said Lin. "Pick a seat."

She looked momentarily like she was about to fire off another unwelcome remark, but then she shrugged and patted Tenzin's shoulder, leaving the room again.

Tenzin took the seat the furthest away from the door and waited, his heart in his throat.

He should be angry, he knew. He should be preparing to greet Tarrlok with sharp questions, recriminations, a condemnation of the one form of bending entirely forbidden, of Tarrlok's use of it, but--

But, he missed Tarrlok; missed him till it ached in the long hours as he lay awake at night. Missed him with a sick, hollow feeling as he spent his days in City Hall, untangling the mess Tarrlok and Amon both had made.

And then when Korra - exhausted and defeated by her loss of three elements - had laid out the story Tarrlok had told her--

_ He should have told me _ _,_ Tenzin thought. All the secrets, the moments of pain and distance, and Tenzin wondered if the parts he'd imagined to be the real Tarrlok truly had been.

A door opened on the other side of the bars, and Tenzin straightened, hurt and rushing relief warring in his mind as Tarrlok stepped through. He looked... lessened.

His hair was in a single sloppy braid, not three, and the prison clothes they had put him in hung awkwardly off his frame. He looked unutterably tired.

"Tarrlok," Tenzin said and stopped, not sure of what else to say. Every question dissipated into the air. The waterbender sat down across from him, eyebrows raised expectantly. "Are you okay?"

"No, Tenzin; I'm not okay."

"I didn't mean-- I'm glad to see you're alive," Tenzin stammered. "When Korra said Amon had taken you, I didn't know what to-- to think."

"I should think relief would do it," said Tarrlok. "A bloodbender off the streets. Of course, it turns out there was another one right around the corner, but that's fate for you."

Tenzin looked down at his hands, before clutching them together to keep them from trembling. "Korra told me-- she told me the story you told her."

Tarrlok sighed, letting his head drop back. The bags under his eyes were dark; thick, bruise-like smudges and bled down into his cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tenzin asked, low and hurt.

Tarrlok raised his head again to give him a disbelieving look. "Why didn't I tell you that I was a mutant bloodbender, spawned by an escaped mob boss? Do you even hear yourself?"

In the month or so apart, Tenzin had somehow forgotten how obstinate Tarrlok could be, and he breathed deeply, counting to ten.

"No," he said. "Why didn't you tell me about your past? I asked you often enough."

"I didn't see the point," Tarrlok said with a casual shrug. "I still don't."

"I wanted to help you!" Tenzin said.

Tarrlok was silent for a long moment, avoiding Tenzin's searching eyes.

"Like I said," he said, finally, "I didn't see the point."

It hurt, but Tenzin had gotten used to swallowing hurt over the course of his life.

"Lin knows," slipped out before he realised he had said it.

Tarrlok blinked. "What?"

"About us," Tenzin said with an awkward shrug. "She figured it out."

"Oh." Tarrlok looked towards the closed door as if to see Lin was still standing there, his eyebrows drawing together. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore either, does it?"

Tenzin sighed, picked at the bars for lack of anything else, and said, “She wants me to tell Pema.”

“Maybe you’ll get lucky,” said Tarrlok, “and Pema’ll turn out to have a cuckoldry kink. You’ll have to find someone else to indulge it with now, though. I have a feeling I’m going to be seeing a lot of bars.”

“I don’t want anyone--!” Tenzin sputtered. “You-- why are you like this?”

Tarrlok rubbed his eyes, his mouth dragging down sharply. “I don’t understand why you’re here, Tenzin.”

"Is it so very difficult for you to believe that I care about you?"

The flicker of surprise--of hurt, of naked hope--across Tarrlok’s face was more of a truthful answer than his shrug could ever be.

“Why are you refusing to speak to your attorney?” Tenzin asked.

Tarrlok sighed. “Oh, you have been following this closely. There’s no point. I’m guilty as sin.”

“There are extenuating circumstances--” Tenzin started to say, but was interrupted by a brief, cold laugh from his lover.

“I bloodbent the Council, Tenzin! I kidnapped the Avatar. And frankly,” he leaned over the table, all the better to give Tenzin a narrow look, “if Noatak hadn’t taken my bending, I’d be very tempted to start throwing you around like a ragdoll right now.”

Tenzin frowned at him for a long moment.

"Stop trying to scare me away. We're having this conversation."

"Why?" Tarrlok groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why do you even care?"

It would likely have tickled Lin pink to know how right she had been in her taunting, but Tenzin couldn't concern himself with that. Instead, he told Tarrlok the truth.

"Because I love you."

There. The truth was out. Tarrlok looked up, hurt written all over his face.

"And what good is that supposed to do me now?" he demanded.

"I want to help you," Tenzin said. He almost reached for Tarrlok before remembering the bars between them.

Tarrlok rubbed tense, little circles on his temples. "Who doesn't," he said flatly. "Beifong wants to help me make amends by giving her information I don't have. Zirsa wants to help me unburden my heart like she was my fucking mother. Noatak wants to help me--" He fell silent, wincing suddenly as if in pain.

It was a strange thing, to see the wound laid bare and know what it was. Tenzin had been so used to seeing those flashes of pain and forcing himself not to pry. "How is your brother?" he asked carefully. "Lin said he was being sedated."

Tarrlok nodded. "He wakes up sometimes," he said, very quiet. "Not long, just enough for a brief conversation. Mostly I just read to him."

"Has he told you what happened?" Tenzin asked, watching Tarrlok closely. The once-waterbender was avoiding his eyes.

"A little," Tarrlok said with a shrug, scratching a nail on the linoleum tabletop. "He told me he took Korra's bending. Is she okay?"

"She still has airbending," Tenzin said, avoiding a proper answer. "In fact, she seems to have unblocked it for the express purpose of kicking Am-- your brother out of a window."

For a moment Tarrlok was silent. Then he started laughing to himself.

"Of course she did," he chuckled, genuinely amused. "Oh, she's great, isn't she? Air-kicked him out of a window. Amazing. I'll never let him hear the end of this."

Tenzin swallowed before daring, "He caught me and the children."

The laughter ebbed out, and Tarrlok slumped in his seat with a sigh. "I know. But he failed."

Tenzin felt hurt and frustration welling up in him. "Well, yes, but only because Korra--"

"I'm not defending him,” Tarrlok cut him off. “You need to understand that he's not-- Noatak isn't  _ right. _ He's not stable." He ran his fingers over the shallow lines he'd etched into the tabletop with a frown. "It's the bloodbending. It... makes you mad, makes you unpredictable, even to yourself. And Noatak can't turn it off."

Tenzin tried to catch Tarrlok's eye. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Is he bloodbending constantly?"

"Yes," Tarrlok said, giving him a hollow smile. "He uses it as an extra sense. Since he was, oh, about twelve, I think. Haven't you noticed?"

Tenzin stared at him, horror and pity curdling in the pit of his stomach at the realisation, the memory of his pulse rising as the Equalist leader stepped into their prison.

"The way your heart beats faster around him? How his presence makes you feel trapped, panicking?" The smile faded off Tarrlok's face. "You can get used to it, once you know why it happens."

Tenzin felt sick. He'd known, of course, because Korra had told him that Yakone's sons had been trained since childhood. But for one of them to reach a proficiency at that level, at only twelve...

It was definitely pity, and he felt strange to pity a man like Amon. But to be forced to learn bloodbending, to never be able to stop; just using it twice had nearly broken Tenzin's mother.

"That-- that might work in his favour at the trial." 

He could raise a defense in his head: Tarrlok had been in the grips of bloodbending madness, too. Korra had even admitted that she had left Tarrlok very little choice by the end of their fight--the once-waterbender interrupted his train of thought,

"You're very sweet." None of the familiar mockery in his tone; only exhaustion. "But we both know that won't be the case. He's too dangerous." He looked away again, eyebrows drawing together. “We both are.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tenzin said. “You don’t even have your bending; there is nothing dangerous about you!”

Tarrlok looked at him with something like sorrow.

"Korra could give a statement on your behalf," Tenzin said, leaning towards him, willing himself to ignore the bars. "She told me that she was trying to kill you, and that you were acting, initially, in self-defense. With the story you told her, it gave her the edge on Amon. If she spoke up for you, the court--"

"No," Tarrlok cut him off. "We're where we belong, both Noatak and I. In a cage."

"Tarrlok."

"We are exactly what my father made us," Tarrlok said, "and if either of us were to be let out, it would just be the same all over again. I know I wouldn't be able to stop myself, and Noa-- Noa still thinks what he did was right. I don't think he'll ever give up." He swallowed and slumped in the chair, staring at the table as if it held his death warrant.

"I love you," Tenzin said, again, because he didn't know what else to say to drive that despair from his lover's face.

Tarrlok only smiled tightly and entirely without humour down at the table. "So you said," he muttered. Then, more clearly, "You should go. I'm sure your family's missing you." His face twisted, the smile turning bitter. "I know my family misses me at least. Apparently he nearly killed someone to get me out of solitary. If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"No, listen to me," Tenzin said.

"We're not what I'd call healthy," Tarrlok rambled on, "but I think that ship sailed the first time we bloodbent some poor critter."

"Tarrlok, please!"

Tarrlok closed his eyes tightly.

"Go  _ away, _ Tenzin."

Tenzin breathed deeply, twisting his fingers together in frustration. "I'm going South in two days. Bringing Korra to see my mother, to fix whatever it was Amon did. I won't be there at your trial--"

"Good," said Tarrlok. "I don't want you there."

"--but your attorney wants any information she thinks might help.”

Tarrlok said nothing.

“Let me help you," Tenzin said, low and rough. The hurt burned bitterly in the back of his throat. “Let me give them Korra’s statement, let me tell them about what bloodbending does to your--”

"Moon's sake," Tarrlok groaned. "Do I have to break up with you officially for you to go away? It's over, Tenzin. Go. Leave! Find someone better for you to fuck around on Pema with. Someone Lin won't find out about."

Tenzin watched him, watching the tremble in his jaw, the sheen in his eyes of tears that wouldn't spill.

"You can't break up with me," he said finally. "We're not in a relationship."

Tarrlok stared at him for a long moment. "You're such a pedantic prick," he said.

Tenzin smiled at him. "We've established that," he said. "I'm not giving up on you, Tarrlok. Even if you've given up on yourself."

Tarrlok sighed. Then he said, "Polar hamster."

"What?" Tenzin said, frowning.

"The first thing we bloodbent was a polar hamster. We took turns," Tarrlok said. He looked nauseous, gaze dropping back to the table.

"You should never have had to do that," Tenzin said. He didn't know what else to say.

Tarrlok shifted forward so suddenly that Tenzin jolted, his pale blue eyes cold and hard as ice.

"But I  _ did. _ I did it to Korra and I did it to you. You never think critically, Tenzin, that's always been your biggest flaw. Did it not occur to you that what we had wasn't a coincidence? That our relationship was a part of my calculations? That I targeted you specifically? The Avatar was hidden away behind walls and guards, far from anything I could do to her when I first arrived, but the previous Avatar's son? Republic City's only airbender? You made such an easy target."

Every word was rough and spat, dragged fighting out of Tenzin's deepest fears.

He swallowed, watching Tarrlok watching him. The former waterbender was glaring through the bars, mouth drawn into a pout that Tenzin knew as well as the back of his own hand, his chestnut hair in beautiful disarray, and pain in those wintry pale eyes.

"No," he said finally, mildly, reaching two fingers through the bars to stroke Tarrlok's thumb, the same place he'd kissed a hundred times, "because there's a flaw in your logic. I kissed you first.

"That's always been  _ your _ flaw, Tarrlok; you'll say whatever it takes to win, even if it's a lie."

The anger crumbled away, and for a moment Tarrlok's face pulled into a grimace of pain and grief. He pulled his hand away from Tenzin's touch and slumped back in his chair.

"Go home."

"I'm not giving up on you," Tenzin said.

Tarrlok stood to leave. " _ I'm _ giving up," he said, not bothering to look back over his shoulder, his voice worn thin. "Goodbye, Tenzin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first of all, the proper term that Tarrlok should have used was 'cucquean', not 'cuckoldry', but we can be honest, can't we, readers, and admit that 'cucquean' is not a well-known term at all. So, yes, while Tarrlok is enough of a stickler to have used the proper terminology, I weighed that against taking my readers out of the story and the latter won. So don't @ me.
> 
> Second, this chapter was the second (after 'The Museum') to get a substantial rewrite from the bottom up. The differences were that the original was a lot more meandering and didn't have a common thread tying it together, like Tenzin trying to get information for Tarrlok's attorney here. Lin also didn't figure out the whole truth, mistaking it for unrequited pining, but I thought that was too much of a fake-out for the build-up I'd done.


	28. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin gets found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DoubtingRabbit, my best beta. ❤️

Tenzin landed on the docks, the glider snapping shut crisply as he made his way up the steps to the temple. The packing they had done stood beneath the overhang of the bison stable, wrapped tight into place with heavy tarps and ropes, but where Tenzin had expected to see Pema cataloguing and assigning burdens to the other flying bisons, there was no one.

He frowned, pulling himself out of his frustrated haze of sadness to look around. He didn't have to look far. Pema sat in one of the pavilions, cradling her forehead in her hand. She looked unwell and concern prodded Tenzin towards her.

"Pema?" 

She didn't respond or even move, staring out across the courtyard. As he moved closer, he could see her shoulders clenching, her bun unraveling, and painful worry gnawed at his stomach.

"Pema, are you alright?" he asked as he joined her.

He looked down, to the table beside her, to the plain brown envelope with its cheap wax seal, broken, resting by her elbow, and heard his blood roar in his ears.

It wasn’t right. First that Lin sussed out the truth, and now this. (He refused to indulge the selfish voice, loudly relieved, that he wouldn’t have to be the one to tell her.)

"Oh," he said very, very softly.

Pema took a deep, shaky breath. She was turning something in her other hand, a clumsily folded piece of paper.

"You know, all this time, I thought Lin was the one I needed to be worried about," she said. Her voice was rough.

"Pema--"

"No wonder he was always smirking at me," she continued, continuing to ignore him. "He must have thought me a real idiot; flaunting it, right in my face, and I never even considered it."

"I'm sorry," said Tenzin. He could taste the bile of guilt in the back of his throat, feel how inadequate the apology was on his tongue.

"How long?" Pema asked. She still didn't turn to look at him.

"Since--"

Tenzin shuffled his feet, eyes fixed on that folded slip of paper. He thought to lie, to spare her, but what point would that serve anymore? And he was tired of lying.

"... since Jinora was little."

Pema shifted, leaning forward, curling in on herself with a sickly sound.

“Pema,” Tenzin said, closing the gap she refused to acknowledge.

She shot up from her chair and away from him, finally turning to look at him once she was out of reach, and he flinched at the sight. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face splotchy and wet, her chin trembled and she was looking at him as if she didn’t know him at all.

“Pema, I’m so sorry,” he tried again.

She covered her mouth, as if holding back something.

Tenzin swallowed. “What did you get? What did-- what were you sent?”

She thrust the offending article at him with a shaking arm. He plucked it gingerly from her fingers, opened it.

There was no misunderstanding the photograph or it's context; Tarrlok, bruised and battered, his hair loose, kissing Tenzin in the marble-clad bathroom at City Hall. And Tenzin had been so sure he’d heard no one.

He tried not to feel the agonising jolt of remembrance, of wanting to go back to before it all crumbled around him, of the naive relief he'd felt only moments before. Tenzin nodded and refolded it.

“Right,” he said quietly.

Pema dropped the hand over her mouth, her lip trembling as question burst through the dam in a demand, "Are you gay?"

"Pema," Tenzin attempted to cut her off, but she pulled further from him.

"Was all of this just a charade?" she went on, her voice rising. "Am I your beard, Tenzin?!"

"No!" he snapped, too loudly, and looked around worriedly. He lowered his voice and said, "No. Of course not."

"Then explain that to me!" she said, gesturing at the folded paper. "Explain how you could be f--" her voice came out in a hiss, " _ fucking _ a man--"

"Pema!"

Then she was crying again, curling her fingers into her hair, strands tugging free from her bun. "Lin was right; she was right all along. I should've-- I should've listened, I can't believe I just accepted that everything would be so easy--"

Tenzin reached for her, grabbed her wrist, and was relieved that she let him.

"Pema, please. Stop."

"I really was just a way for you to have kids, wasn't I?" she demanded, somewhere between raging and sobbing with her voice catching between words. "A brood mare, wasn't it? She was right all along!"

“What? Who?!”

“Lin!”

He had to think back, far back before he had married Pema in the first place, when Lin had nearly sunk Air Temple Island in her rage, it had been the same sort of rage that Pema felt now. Uncontrollable, inconsolable and completely justified.

Maybe Lin was right about everything. Maybe he did have a pattern.

"Wh-- she only said that to hurt you. She was upset, and she was lashing out, Pema, please."

"Oh, are you saying that it's not true?"

"Of course it's not true!"

She snatched the photograph from his hands before he could react, unfolding it hard enough to rip it partway, and screamed,  _ "Then what is this?!" _

Tenzin stared at her for a moment, eyes skipping away from the monochrome proof of his guilt. He swallowed hard and said, "It's an affair, Pema. What do you want me to say?"

Her strength crumbled with the breeze, the damned photo fell from her slack hands and fluttered to the ground. She jerked out of his hold, falling back into the chair he'd found her in, and face buried in her hands as she wept. Tenzin watched her helplessly, but didn't try to touch her again.

"Listen," he tried, unable to stand the sound of her crying. “It’s not-- our marriage is--”

“Four children,” she sobbed, her fingers digging into her scalp. “Four children I’ve given you, went along with your legacy, gave up everything of myself for you and for this family, and this-- this is what I get? This is what you think is okay to do to me?!”

He didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. Instead he pulled one of the chairs to sit by her and settled into it, waiting for her sobbing to abate.

When it did, Tenzin swallowed and said, "Of course it's not okay."

Pema's breath caught, stuttered. She cradled her head in her hands.

"Then why?"

Tenzin opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Her red-eyed gaze shot up at him, contemptuous.

He forced out, "Because I love him."

She gasped and flinched as if he'd struck her physically.

"And me?" she demanded.

"I love you, too."

"Don't lie to me," she said, "not anymore, I swear, Tenzin, for once just tell me--"

"I'm not lying," he insisted. "I'm-- I'm explaining. I never meant for anything to happen with him."

Pema's attempt at dry laughter frayed with hysteria.

"What, you slipped and fell dick-first into his slimy mouth?"

Tenzin winced at the crudeness of it, but that only seemed to inflame her.

"No, explain that to me," Pema said. "You never meant for it to happen, but it's been happening since Jinora was little? Explain that, Tenzin, because right now it sounds like you're just a coward making excuses."

Tenzin stared at the floor of the pavilion, at the carefully sanded wood. He remembered overseeing its construction at his father's side, remembered helping to slot the boards into place. Another piece of his legacy.

"You were always wiser than me," he said finally.

Pema made a noise, half disgust, half pain, and the silence fell heavy between them. Tenzin was acutely aware of the sound of the wind-chimes, of the rush of blood in his ears and of Pema's breathing--she was doing breathing exercises, he realised, and his stomach turned with guilt.

"Where are the kids?" Tenzin asked quietly.

Pema sniffed and gestured vaguely towards the women's wing.

"With Sita and Aa-Yun."

Tenzin looked at the building, serene and innocuous in the spring sunlight, but his stomach felt sour and knotted. "Did you--"

"What do you take me for?" she snapped, giving him a teary glare. "No, I didn't tell them anything, and I'm not going to. This is-- this is between us.”

Tenzin nodded, cleared his throat. "Thank you."

"Oh, go hang," she said. "It's not  _ for _ you, Tenzin. The world doesn't revolve around you and your duty and your damned heritage, you know. Just because you--" She cut herself off, covering her hand with her mouth as if she was physically struggling with the words.

Tenzin watched her, watched the unfamiliar way she turned from him like he was a stranger, an enemy.

"What--" he started, croaked. His breath caught on the stone in his throat and he took a moment to regain his composure before trying again. "What do you want to do, Pema?"

She was silent for long enough that Tenzin started to fear she didn't hear him, that he would have to ask again. Then she lowered her hand and said, "What I want doesn't matter."

Tenzin blinked. "Of course it--"

"The kids matter," she cut him off. "The kids need a safe and stable family. And he's locked away, right? So it doesn't matter." She turned to him, her puffy eyes hard-set and her red face determined.

"We pretend this never happened."

"We can't do that."

"You're right. Not yet," Pema said. "But with time... with time everything will go back to normal. And the kids will be safe and happy, never knowing about any of this."

Tenzin looked at her, at the way her jaw was tight enough to tremble, at the way her hands clutched hard enough at her arms for her knuckles to go white, and swallowed down the guilt. It stuck to his throat. 

"So you don't want a divorce?"

Pema laughed, a short and hysterical sound, and bit her lip hard to quell it. "Yes, I do, but it's not about me. And it's not about us, or you either,  _ damn _ you."

"Pema--"

"So swallow your guilt," she continued, eyes burning like an ember in the center of fragile ash, "deal with the consequences of your actions. I'll try not to vomit every time I have to look at you. And maybe, in time, we can start to pretend again."

Tenzin looked at the ground, at the torn photo, and said, "I still need to see him. In an official capacity, to sort out this-- this whole mess."

She inhaled sharply and stood, turning away from him again.

"Of course," she said, her voice low and raw.

Tenzin closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't have a choice, Pema."

"I'm sure you don't," she said to the empty courtyard.

"It's my--" he stopped himself before he arrived at the word 'duty' and substituted it for, "It's my obligation."

She said nothing.

"I am sorry, Pema."

"I need to finish the packing."

She left him there, with only the empty courtyard and his guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so, in the original plotting of the fic, this chapter didn't exist. Essentially, Pema never found out, she simply felt that she and Tenzin were slipping apart, and that largely owed to that, well--
> 
> We've gotten close, haven't we, readers? I can make a controversial statement, can't I? Here it is: I think Bryke did Pema _really_ dirty when it came to characterisation; she spends 90% of her time as a bland background character, so honestly, she didn't really factor into the story.
> 
> But it turns out, once you start writing a novel-length story in which a character gets cheated on for a decade, you start to get kinda iffy about not allowing her any agency in the situation, so somewhere around the time where I was writing the lead-up to Tarrlok being revealed as a bloodbender, I found myself saying to DR, "Hey, I think Pema needs to find out, because I haven't actually given her a voice in all of this."
> 
> Hence this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Tenzin thinks he's being slick. He's not.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Gavel Falls](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753053) by [DoubtingRabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubtingRabbit/pseuds/DoubtingRabbit), [Lenticular](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenticular/pseuds/Lenticular)
  * [Simply Having a Wonderful Solsticetime](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288788) by [DoubtingRabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubtingRabbit/pseuds/DoubtingRabbit)
  * [in excess, in lack](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28799418) by [architecture_in_f1ll0ry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/architecture_in_f1ll0ry/pseuds/architecture_in_f1ll0ry)
  * [images of rapture (creep into me slowly)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29419515) by [architecture_in_f1ll0ry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/architecture_in_f1ll0ry/pseuds/architecture_in_f1ll0ry)
  * [the other side of the road](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29524617) by [awkwardwritersyndrome](https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardwritersyndrome/pseuds/awkwardwritersyndrome)
  * [forbidden fruit](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29796246) by [architecture_in_f1ll0ry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/architecture_in_f1ll0ry/pseuds/architecture_in_f1ll0ry)




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